AN ABORTED TURNING STONE TRIP

 

TURNING STONE

This is a short trip report because I aborted my trip, and did not stay overnight, but drove home in the evening of the first day.

It was very strange.

I guess I just got tired.

The score was minus 86 on the live poker and minus 66 on the JOB video poker. Not very good.

I had a fine Saturday, immediately getting a seat and then playing at a table with four fellas from Killington, Vermont who had driven to Turning Stone on a guy's trip.

They were friendly and funny.

We were joined with some regulars I like.

I lost quickly, regained to break even, and then lost just before going to supper.

My best hand was to have Q-2 in the big blind and flop 2-2-Q. I did not bet, but called the $2 when that bet came around.

I did not bet the turn. A fellow two seats to my left did. He had quite a few callers, and I raised when it got to me, and, of course, the rest called again. My opponent had 2's full of 6's so my 2's full of Q's took down a healthy pot.

No chances for a high hand this session. On Saturday they give out $300 every twenty minutes.

Supper was my usual Sinatra chicken at Savoy, Rome. This time I called for a reservation and asked for Rachael to be my waitress; however it was not crowded as it was last Sunday.

For the first time they sat me at a table in the bar room. I liked the change in scenery. All sorts of odd posters, a wooden mermaid from some old ship, a grand hammered copper ceiling. My photo of the large and beautiful stained glass ceiling light at the next table did not develop.

It is just a darkened blotch.

No pianist, but they played piano music, perhaps taped from the pianist.

I do love this spot.

Here was the ceiling lamp above the table next to me.

Everything was good.

But my resolve was weakening. I was just tired of playing and decided to drive home.

Easy drive with the beautiful full moon moving in and out of various cloud formations and colors. The best moon I've seen in year, and it was there for my entire trip.

The driving was easy. I was home about ten.

I still have no clear reason why I gave it up.

One advantage was missing sleeping in the van with the humidity and facing the drive home in rains caused by the hurricane.

Another is getting to be in a family zoom call happening this afternoon.

This morning there was practically no one on the lake. The pontoon gave me a nice ride and a good drift. A few were out securing their boats against the coming storm. The rain has started and Elizabeth tells me we are to get more than she thought we would this morning.

I won't be sitting out on the deck and enjoying the fresh water smells. We worry now after that last storm that produced the great flooding.

So it is fine to not have to drive in the rain.

I don't know what happened to discourage me. I suspect, after now having a good night's sleep and a great nap. that I was just too tired to engage the fun.

On September 1 Rivers in Schenectady is scheduled to open. Then I won't have far to go for a poker game and for better video poker than Turning Stone if they have not culled out the nickle triple play I like.

I hope they manage the opening on time.

TURNING STONE AUGUST AT HOTEL

 

OVERVIEW

Stayed and played at Turning Stone and slept one night at the hotel.

Saw long time friend Bob Lusiak on the way up.

Ate a meal at my favorite restaurant, the Savoy in Rome.

Played 4 hours no limit one day and limit the next.

Lost on that and on the video poker.

Score was minus $319 for the trip.

Drove home through a blinding rain storm, the worst I've encountered in many years.

MEETUP WITH BOB LUSIAK

On my trip I did not miss an eagle passing across the road right in front of me and low enough so I could see the size and great white feathers. This was just before the Iroquois reststop. It was grand.

However, I missed the turnoff for the rest stop where I was to call Bob Lusiak, so we could coordinate the meetup. I miss more and more things these days of drifting old age mind. By the time I realized it, I was even beyond Utica.

But Bob found a fine diner in Utica and we met there for a good breakfast. I had Utica greens and eggs. Very good.

Castlewood Cafe: Utica, NY: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Restaurant (castlewoodcafeny.com)

We had a fine talk, catching up on old times. He told me his old house on Rapin Street in Buffalo was the site of a drug raid. I told him mine on Goembel is an empty lot, and I'd not been back in years.

 Bob said the neighborhood reminded him of an old man with missing teeth because so many houses were gone.

It was good I got to see him, because, once he does not have to care for his aging mother-in-law, he may move to Wilmington, Delaware to be close to his daughters and grandchildren.

Bob and I go back 71 years, meeting in Miss Hickey's kindergarten and continuing to be in the same class through 8^th grade, and at least one class together each year of high school and through two years of college.

Sometimes, when I go to Turning Stone, I sleep in my van at a campground called The Landing. It is just $30 and I really have everything I need and generally sleep in comfort. However, the temperature and the humidity were supposed to be very high, so I thought I might be uncomfortable there and booked a room at the poker rate.

I learned after booking that they would not spread the 2-4 except on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so I would have to do my four required hours playing no limit.  

This made me very anxious. 

I arrived at Turning Stone about one PM and was given a nice room. The poker rate of $93 with tax required four hours of poker play.  At checkout I further reduced the rate by using $20 of points. $73 for this room is a good bargain.

The room was pleasant, large, clean with two queens, a coffee pot, two desks, and a fine shower. In general, it was quiet, but there was a very soft bit of music playing into the evening. Room 438 was at the end of the corridor right next to a large open space where one could see down to the casino floor, so some of that music leaked up.

It was also right next to the ice machine and some fine elevators that went directly to the area in which I like to play VP, one of the few banks of 8-5 JOB in the casino. Most are 7-5. Terrible.

Curtains kept all light out.

I slept comfortably.  I usually sleep easily after the poker.  It must clear my brain of all worries.  Perhaps I play the hands over in my head.  At any rate, it always relaxes me.  I also was relieved to have enough bankroll to play again on the second day.

They have a "serve it yourself" section right near the Keno.  I did not have the very good free coffee, but filled up with ice and had my own Spendthrift Seltzer Lemon, a new brand that is very, very good. 

 In my room a close ice machine made the seltzer a better drink.

When I play I have to visit the bathroom often enough as it is without the coffee adding to the diuretics.

They have free valet parking, but I just chose to park in a section I know, where I always park.  It is out beyond the new high roller comp area called The Parlour.  

I did not have much luggage.

When checking in, I could park right outside so the only slepping of bags was when I left.

Even on that hot and humid day I did not find it very taxing to roll my suitcase to the nearby van.

I like to be in areas I know and where I have been before.  I don't get twisted up so easily then.

The main pool is closed, but the two lap wide long pool up on the third floor above the check in was open. I spent about an hour there by myself on Friday morning before checking out. It was delightful.  Classical music played.  There also was a hot tub and a whole room full of exercise equipment. Good cold water was everywhere and an apple on the way out, along with my from home Crazy Richard's peanut butter made a fine breakfast.

I was very anxious about playing no limit. I know how to play. I'm confident enough. But I don't have the kind of bankroll to support a losing streak or to play the aggressive game I'd like to play. As it turned out, I lost just $76, less than I was to lose at the 2-4 or at the video poker.

I kept track of my time and when it was well over 4 hours, I went to check. It seems every time I used the bathroom I was punched in as "in lobby" by the dealer, and I still required  ten minutes to play to get to four hours.  And they made me play it.

 So, I played, and in those ten minutes caught two pots for a total of $80. Nice.

Years back for the poker rate I could get a slip almost as soon as I sat down.  Those days are gone.  Everything is electronic and on the card.  I had to trust that when the poker room guy said he had sent over my qualification for poker rate, it had actually arrived at the hotel desk.  I did not trust it.  I went and checked and it was fine and I was relieved of that worry. 

SAVOY RESTAURANT IN ROME

The Savoy restaurant is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. It is old school, with a bar that looks like the 50's and a room of linen tablecloths, and a menu of wonderful food. 

 Then there is the waitress Rachel who remembered me and what I ordered from my last visit a couple of weeks ago.

She has the cutest eyes over mask look.

Chicken Sinatra is a slice of chicken, a slice of fried eggplant, assorted spices, melted mozzarella in a tasty marsala sauce and all of it over Utica greens. Oh, excuse me, here they are called East Rome greens. It is served with a delightful salad (Rachel said to try the Italian with blue cheese crumbles) and some of the best garlic toast I have ever eaten, rich in buttery garlic and parsley. 

I love sitting there and listening to the talk around me and just feel at peace and pampered.

 I had two O'Doul's and the bill was $29. Rachael perhaps remembers me because I tip ten dollars on this meal. She is worth it.

I tried to go back on Friday, but it was packed. I had not made a reservation, and I am just one person. They could not accommodate me. Huge lines out the door of folks who had reserved tables. Amazing.

I don't expect I'll ever go up on the Thursday again, but if I am up on Friday, I'll make late reservations, I'm certain I can get a table.

It turned out that not eating there was fine as I got on the road a bit early and missed driving longer in the darkness through the raging rain.

THE POKER

I played no limit the first day for just 4 hours, and then filled the second day with 2-4. Unlike my last trip, I enjoyed the other players, and they had good conversation, laughed and joked with me, and told interesting stories. 
At the no limit table were three Black men and I very much enjoyed their banter and stories and joking ways.  All those years teaching inner city put me into the Black community and retirement just pulled me out, as it pulled me out of my teaching community as well.  I miss it.

Another fellow had just returned from an Alaskan cruise, so he talked about bears. 

And another fellow told about picking these pests off the blueberry bushes and of how many gallons he and his daughter had picked and then burned.  I had just read about Carl Sandburg getting in trouble because he was supposed to do that task as a boy and he skipped it.  His father was very mad.

I was not the only masked player at the tables this time.  There were still very few, but I did not stand out.  I do think the mask inhibits conversation.

My best no limit hand was Aces full of tens. I bet it well, and was called easily until we got to the river where I went all-in with my last $63.

Here I was very happy to have my mask.

My opponent asked, as if talking to himself, "Do you have Aces full of tens?" and my mask hid any give away tells. 

 After a long while, he called. 

"You called it," I said.  He was graciously laughing at the losing.

That hand went on the $100 high hand board for a long while, but eventually was beaten by quad 2's.

Still, I had been at one point down almost $300 and this hand with other smaller hands brought me back.

Thursday is not a great day for high hand awards. Just $100 every hour. Friday is $300 every 20 minutes. However, on Friday I just got no decent cards. And all the junk I folded hit. Especially frustrating was to see my folded 9-2 flop two pair and then turn to make nines full. Two folks had hands and so they would have stayed in, as they did. But what can I  do? I can't start playing 9-2.

I even changed tables and although I picked up more interesting people, I did not pick up poorer players or better hands. Half my second table were women. Very unusual. I liked the mix. I still think it is good to get off the first table that opens early as that collects the old regulars who are there early. 

 I just did not get the cards.

The best player at my second 2-4 table was a woman dealer from Rivers. She was very good. She got good cards as well. 

She and the dealer said that Rivers is opening September 1^st. That will mean a much easier drive to play poker and perhaps some cheap room as well. Senior rated rooms on certain days at Rivers were less than $60 with no poker rate required.  I am hoping they still are.

Of course, Rivers will be close enough to drive in 40 minutes, so I can drive home, and after going through that rain in semi darkness, I have more confidence in driving than I did. However, I hate driving in the dark.  We'll see.

I do think the mask inhibits conversation. There is something about not presenting a face that seems to isolate me. Perhaps I just need to speak louder.

VIDEO POKER

One advantage to staying in the hotel is that when I woke up at 3 AM I could go down and play video poker for a while. There was no one in the room at that hour.

I played again just before leaving the casino on Friday. I did hit a couple quads, but they came when I was down, so they did not give me a profit, just more time to play. In the end, the score was not great, minus $90 for the two days.

ODD PHONE GLITZ

My cell will not work as a GPS from the Turning Stone parking area. Strange. It happened twice on different visits. It acted like I was home on Burden Lake.

Each time I turned on St. James Street on my way to Rome, and pulled over. Then I could set the Savoy as my destination.  Then it correctly read my location.

I could have found the Savoy without the GPS, but I like knowing I won't miss some turn or other.

I should have set up the old plug in GPS, the Garmin.  I will next time.

THE DRIVE HOME

At first it was easy enough.  There were a few sprinkles, but mostly sun.  In one spot I had a section of a rainbow right in front of me for a long while.  

Things changed quickly, however, and soon I was in a blinding rainstorm.  There were interruptions on the radio to give emergency weather alerts and it was clear the rain would last until I was home. 

And it did. 

Along the side of the road I could see lightning bolts as clear as they appear in classic photos, and I was a bit frightened that one might decide to hit my car.  They were very close.

Of course, there were idiots, but this time not so many speeding idiots.  The worst was a car in the middle lane going fairly slow but without any lights.  

As I followed, and I had to follow for a while, I was constantly putting on my emergency blinkers and afraid some racing guy or big truck would not come slow enough to avoid rear ending me.  Finally, the unlighted idiot went into the right lane.  I was amazed how invisible that car was in the rain.  How can someone not use lights in a violent rainstorm at night?

I was very happy to get off the Thruway and then off route 43 and on the back roads.  

And I was happier still to be in my driveway and done with that driving.  I did not even unpack until the next morning.

Elizabeth warmed up some chicken and made a potato and I ate a bit and then went to bed to read for just a few minutes and then just sleep, right through until the morning.

OVERVIEW TS SNIP

 

OVERVIEW OF MY TRIP

A fully detailed trip report(I'm always long winded) follows in labeled snippets so readers can skim and skip, but here are the bare bones of the trip:

Drove from home the two and a half hours to Turning Stone.

Played poker and a little video poker, then checked in The Landing Campground where for $30 I get a fine bathroom close by, electric, a picnic table, and a spot to park my 2012 Dodge Caravan set up for sleeping.

Ate supper at the Savoy in Rome, and played poker again until eleven.

Slept until six.

Took a walk along the water.

Slept until 8:30.

Breakfast at Mary's Diner.

Back for poker until almost six o'clock and then home before dark.

I lost this trip. Lost $50 in video poker and $57 in live poker 2-4.

The details follow in separate snippets of the trip, so readers can skim for what they want to read or skip.

ISSUES TR SNIPPET

 

To put this trip in perspective, let me explain that health and vision issues have made driving difficult for me. At home I rarely drive, even to the grocery. On trips with my wife, she does all the driving. She does not gamble and dislikes casinos, so if I go to Turning Stone, I drive.

It really is not very bad. I stay in the right hand lane, and this stretch of the Thruway has very few folks merging, so lane changes are few. Left hand lane changes are the hardest bit of the driving for me.

Then I am on country roads.

This was the first time for me on the thruway with only electronic toll collectors. It was very nice. Certainly it cuts down on the lines.

I try to limit night driving, so I usually leave in time to be home before dark. It is not a bad time as usually the table breaks up around supper time anyway.

There is a cheap bus a half hour from here, but one day seems too short a trip to spend 5 hours traveling for just a few hours at the poker table, and an early departure with no chance to go to the Savoy.

The hotels are pricey these days. But I can sleep in the van for just $30 and fish bass in the morning if I like. That seems more reasonable.

I usually plug my little old boom box into the cigarette lighter and listen to old cassettes, but I forgot it. I have a CD player, but this trip it decided to jam with a CD of Bill Staines stuck in it. So, I made do with NPR. At first the CD would not either play or eject, but after a stop and start it decided it would play, so I listened to Bill Staines, and I listened to him a lot on the way home.

Most ironic lyrics:

“Show me the road that leads to my home.”

I do have to drive about twenty minutes from the casino to the campsite, but it is easy roads, mostly deserted, through farms and along the tourist town of Sylvan Lake. I like it.

I do want to see if I can arrange the site next time by mail and skip the drive from the casino to the campground just to check in and get my site and then drive back.

However, to do that I have to be better planned.

This time I thought I'd go on Friday, but decided not to, and went on Saturday. I would not have that flexibility were I to reserve a site by mail.

CAMP GROUND TS SNIP

 

For $30 I get a spot with a table, electric hookup, wifi, a close bathroom, and no worry on coming in as late at night as I like.

Most of the campsite are seasonal RV campers. I have never seen a tent. This time few were there when I was there. It is quiet at night.

Most people have bathrooms in their RV campers, so I have never seen the bathroom crowded. Nice shower. Well lighted. Easy for getting ready in the morning.

I used to put up curtains in the van, And then tape up the back window, but I don't bother these days. I brought eye shades but never used them.

It rained overnight, but I was dry. There were no mosquitoes in the van. Nice.

I liked waking up and looking out the glass at the waving trees and I love listening to the geese honking in the background and a dove or two.

I got up at six on Sunday and walked to the water. I had forgotten my fishing pole, so of course I saw a huge bass jump completely out of the water just a short way in front of me.

There are pontoon boats everywhere now. I don't remember that being the case before.

I saw an interesting dock which was simply a pontoon boat with nothing on the top. Looked pretty stable.

But there is one spot I could still fish had I remembered my tackle.

It was probably good for me not to fish this time because I went back to sleep for a couple more hours.

On Sunday mornings Mary's Diner is just a half mile or less away. Easy.

There are nearby state campgrounds with places to eat if I want to pack a lunch as well as some places right off the roads, but I love Mary's Diner.

My GPS winds me around country roads, so the ride in includes farms with animals, old barns, plenty of forests and fields and sometimes horses.

Some friends mentioned that Turning Stone has a camp ground just down from the casino, but they do no accommodate the frugal likes of me sleeping in my van.  Their loss.

I also could try just sleeping in a marking lot, but I find that the night time cleaning wakes me at odd hours.

The Landing Campground is always quiet at night.

FOOD TR SNIP

 

THE FOOD

I handle being on a strict diet by limiting my eating to one meal a day in off diet mode. Saturday I went to one of my favorite restaurants, The Savoy in Rome and Sunday I had a decadent breakfast at the quaint Mary's Diner near the campground.

THE SAVOY

Saturday night supper

THE MENU AT SAVOY

This is a grand place to eat. I was hoping to have company as I have old friends in the area, but they were busy this weekend.

However, even solo I love this spot.

Linen is on the tables.

A piano players played old classics.

My waitress was cute and flirtatious.

And the food was incredible.

I picke the Sinatra Chicken which is eggplant and chicken and a sauce of peppers, onion, mushroom, all served over Utica greens, a favorite local medley of flavors:

This dish was popularized by Joe Morelle in the late 1980s at the Chesterfield Restaurant in Utica, N.Y., where it is on the menu as greens Morelle. More widely known as Utica greens, it has become commonplace, in modified versions, in Italian restaurants throughout central New York, and even migrated to New York City, Las Vegas and Florida.

It was delicious as had been every dished I have ever eaten over the years at The Savoy. I drank an O'Doul's as the only NA. Okay. A large basket of nice garlic bread came with the meal and a good sized salad. Bill: $25. I loved the waitress so much I left a $10 tip.

MARY'S DINER

Sunday morning

This is a old fashioned diner with a counter and round swivel seats and a scurry of waitresses and banter. The coffee was okay. I had a garbage plate with eggs over easy and potatoes, sausage gravy, bacon. Very rich and tasty.

Tables are for more than one, so I started at the counter, but one small table opened and the waitress moved me there, remembering I had asked for a table on the way in.

I sat just below a reprint of Hooper's 1942 Diner painting, Night hawks. A bit ironic and nice because I have just been reading about Hooper this week.

Images of Hooper's Nighthawk

I like this diner, but it is not open often. Sunday morning it packs up. I could have gone as early as 6 AM.

I guess Turning Stone food is good. I once liked the buffet, but it is closed. The others seem boring.

I brought snacks I can eat in the car, but did not eat them except for a bite of these Aunt Gussy's sugar free chocolate chip biscuits which are on diet and very good. They went well with the Farmer's Brothers coffee. I don't get hungry when I can play poker. 

I bring gum.

VIDEO POKER TS SNIP

 

VIDEO POKER

Years ago when my game was 10/7 DB I would not play VP at Turning Stone. Then I thought 8/5 JOB was outrageous.

But times have changed.

It actually took me a while to find an 8/5 JOB. Most were 7/5.

That IS outrageous.

I found some in the nonsmoking section that is just off the corridor that leads to The Parlour, a new high roller lounge with free drinks and finger food, I guess.

The machines seemed brand new and worked great. Still, I limited my play.

The third hand, I was dealt 4 to the spade royal. And then a ten of clubs.

I lost $40 my first day and $10 just before leaving. I did not play very long either time.

No quads.

I played hours and hours of 2-4 poker and lost $59.

Still, I liked a bit of the Video Poker because where else will I play that?

At Rivers in Schenectady they did have a nickle triple play Bonus Poker 7/5. I like that, but I don't go up just to play the VP.

No poker room open yet.

Also, at Rivers, on certain nights or with some promotions I can get a room for under $60, and I don't have to drive home in the dark. And there is a grand Italian restaurant just down the street:

John Rizzatello's restaurant

 I'm hoping they open the poker room as projected in September.

POKER TS SNIP

 

THE POKER ROOM

They have a very active 2-4 game, actually three tables on Sunday. Most think it is the high hand awards that draw in the crowds. The games break up a bit after ten when the high hand promotion is over.

While most rooms have upted their low limit games to 3-6, Turning Stone is still at 2-4.

Table games on the floor have higher minimums.  On Saturday night $25 craps minimum convinced me not to play.

Poker is the fugal fellow's game.  However, I would like to see the game 3-6.

There is a bad beat. $25,000. Four tens had to be beaten. Pretty stiff.

Then a Sunday comes along when they begin to reduce what is needed to be beaten, going all the way down to Full House.

Very popular, but I was not there on the right Sunday for that promotion.

It is well run. We can call in, and I advise it. The call holds a place in line for a seat and that is your place even if others actually arrive before you. There is a time limit on arrival.

Here is another option from their web page.

I missed that option, but I think I'll use it next time.

Join a Wait List

At bravopokerlive.com, simply create a one-time account to place your name on any of our Bravo Poker Live Game Waiting Lists. Sign up before you leave home or while on the way for quicker seating and less wait time when you arrive!

I did wait for a table for quite a while on Saturday. I was the first name on the list, but it took a while.

Once the high hand promotion starts players tend to keep their seats. They have a half hour to hold the seat and eat. So, it is better to be early on the list.

I have a two and a half hour drive to get there, but next time I'll pack the night before and leave early in the morning.

I try to get a seat that is easy for my reduced vision, but a seat can't be locked up. What works is to watch for a table opening and lock up a seat with a card on the table. Waiting until the game is actually called means having fewer seat options.

Seat change is possible, but it had to be requested over and over with each new dealer. No “seat change” buttons. I found that annoying.

Table change was very easy. I just gave my name to the brush and he called me when he had one available. I did that once when my table seemed a dead end of rocks and rarely full because of players absent from their seats.

Turning Stone is not Vegas.

Many of the players I have seen in the past, but they don't know me. I'm not a local there every week. I'm not in the clique.

I don't have the same kind of interactions I generally have with fellow Vegas players, but then a table like the Golden Nugget attracts people from all over the world. Turning Stone attracts for the most part regulars from not too far away.

The hotel does offer a poker rate reduction, but the weekend rate is $125 plus tax.

It used to be I could stay at their Inn on a poker rate for under $60. Not any more.

There may be a small local clique in local Vegas poker rooms as well, but it is not the same.

Most of the players were old men with an odd old woman thrown in on occasion. A few were young people. You can play at Turning Stone if you are 18 years old.

If I cared about baseball, I could have found conversation, especially on Sunday when there was a game.

However, I am an atypical American male. I have little interest in sports.

I did have some fine conversation when I asked about restaurants in the Sylvan Lake area. They gave plenty of good suggestions. I may try one next trip.

There was not the old guy talk of death and disease. One regular was reported as having passed. Otherwise, there was no talk of operations or complaints about physical issues. No “organ recitals” as they say in Florida. And that was very refreshing.

I much prefer hearing about the baseball than the knee replacements.

I was the only player at the table wearing a mask. I'm certain that set me apart.

Covid is down in that area, so perhaps it was overprotection on my part, but I did like it to reduce colds as well.

I also think that I can be easily read. I have no decent poker face. The mask helps. Still it may have also isolated me more by making me very different.

Dealers had a squirt container of hand sanitizer and it was passed around when a new game opened. I liked that. I don't think Covid was actually spread very often on surfaces, but chips are the dirtiest bits of things to be handling.

Finally, I'm just not a nice guy at the table.

I check raise. I slow play. I raise preflop. Sometimes I chase rivers. And I don't do the, “Just you and me” check down dance.

I play to win. I don't whine when I lose, even to myself, but I want that $4 or $8 river profit.

Some players are annoyed because I confuse them with some of my play.

Some hate the check raise.

I like it because a check raise is almost always called.

Also, in other hands it makes the loose betters after me think before betting, so it sets up a way of my getting a free card for draws.

I was not popular when I flopped 8's full of 4's. I was big blind with 8-4 and no one bet preflop.

It came up 8-8-4.

I did not bet out.

I did not raise the $2 bet someone made first round.

I did raise the $4 turn bet and bet out on the river. By then a few folks were too invested not to stay.

“He had it on the flop,” said one fellow who was obviously annoyed with his inability to put me on those cards.

So, I know I annoy players who can't put me on a hand.

And, yes, I did take a risk that someone had the 8 and their other card would come out. But it felt more likely that with no initiating action from me they would assume I did not have even the 8.

One fellow in my first session told us all how he could figure what everyone had. He said he knew that I would do something I've now forgotten because he had been watching the way I bet.

Actually, his speculations were rarely right, and not at all right about me.

Meanwhile, in his table talk he revealed what he was thinking about his own cards.

I have in Vegas sat at tables where in some strange way a fellow player seemed to be able to call what all of us held.

I remember one in particular who was very good.

But I think this one fellow had watched Rounders one too many times.

I rarely showed if I did not have to show. I stole a few pots by a correct perception that if I bet the river, I'd win.

I showed junk that I played. I showed all the junk I could unless it was winning junk. I wanted them to think I was loose.

At any rate I was not popular.

No one was mean to me. Just distainful.

But then many of the players were not popular with me either.

There was a high hand in the room $300 bonus every 20 minutes on Saturday and a similar $500 every half hour on Sunday.

$13 was needed in the pot.

That was a reason to raise preflop in late position, to build the pot for a possible high hand.

It did not work for me. In fact, I did it twice with pocket Queens and ended up losing the pot both times. The hard loss was when I had a Queen of spades, and there was the Ace of spades and three others on the board. My opponent had the king.

Another hard hand was when I held pocket Aces in last position with only two opponents. I raised preflop, but that only put $12 in the pot. The flop was on Ace. I checked to the river and no fourth came. I bet. The others folded.

I guess I feel good not to have caught the fourth Ace with too little in the pot to qualify for the $500 high hand. However, I wished the Ace had fallen into some opponent's hand.

If a straight flush or four Aces hit the high hand board early in the session, players left to do other things. I was particularly annoyed to finally get a chance to go to the bathroom, and to pass one of my fellow players playing slots until he timed that the high hand had been paid.

Annoying.

There are only 8 at the tables. If two leave there are only 6. Hardly enough to overcome the rakes.

And then there was the baseball.

A Yankee game.

Of course, everyone at the table knew just how all the baseball should be managed, and actually knew ahead of time who would win.

My dad played some professional baseball, and he told me that was the most annoying part of fans. They all thought they knew more than the managers. They all “second guessed.”

The Baseball slowed the game while players were reminded it was their turn and their attention brought back to the poker.

One fellow to the right of the dealer had to almost fully turn around to see the television, and was reminded over and over when it was his turn.

But then I suppose these players played poker all the time, so perhaps it was just a diversion from watching baseball at home, and the watching was more fun with friends watching as well.

Even when I'm just listening, I generally like to hear table talk, and stories. Not this time.

There were stories about racing cars on a track. Those were the best I got.

On Saturday night there were players who were friends and who had a constant banter which was not really witty and very repetitive. The same dumb remarks over and over from guys who thought they were much more funny than they really were.

That was more annoying than the baseball.

I missed the working men talking carpentry, plumbing, painting. Usually, there are quite a few at Turning Stone. I suppose the rare sunshine had them out working the weekend as well.

No one talked about poetry.

No one playing poker ever talks about poetry.

There is a dearth of poker poems out there. The Baseball attracts the imaginations of many poems. Poker should too.

Poker does attract fiction writers. My buddy John Blowers published his novel “Life on Full Tilt” and they were in the stages of casting for the planned movie when internet poker went bust and so his funding. Good story, however, I recommend it. Perhaps I should being a copy to my next game so as to start a conversation on books.

So, I missed the fun I generally have with other players at the poker table.

Turning Stone isn't the Golden Nugget or the old El Cortez game.

I still had a good time.

No drink service, but there is a beverage station and the coffee was Farmer's brothers and I thought it was good. I brought along my Truvia and a fine insulated cup. My poor hand control squeezes those paper cups until the hot coffee pours out over my hand. I love the insulated cup. On my way home I took a cup with me and it stayed warm while I sipped for over two hours. At one point the station ran out of paper cups and folks were shuffling about and wondering what to do. I just said, “Excuse me” and filled up with some Farmer's Brothers. It was almost like winning a pot.

One odd bit was that while waiting for a table with my chips a man stopped and asked if he could buy a white chip from me as he tried to collect one at every casino he visited.  

I felt bad that most of mine were well worn, but I let him pick the one he wanted.  He dropped me $2 and I kidded, "Hey, you can buy all of them if you want."

I wondered why he did not just go up to the Cashier and ask for a nice new looking chip.  Perhaps he did not know how easy that was.

BLACKHAWK

To give Elizabeth dedicated Grandma time with Reid, I went off for four nights to Blackhawk just before I went to Vegas for 12 nights.

I stayed at the very expensive and plush Monarch. I just felt at the last minute, that I could not trust the cheaper places like the Lady Luck.

I'll do it again just for fun of the huge pool on the roof.  The view is amazing, with glass all around.  It was trees all up steep mountain slops.  Very relaxing.

The pool music was very appealing as well. They played soft sounds that were delightful. 

There were three hot tubs, two inside and one outside in the cold with snow on the lounge chairs.  I tried the one outside and it worked great.  The water offset the cold.  I could get out and walk to the railing.

The food at the 24/7 cafe was overpriced and bland. Also, it was noisy and just off the casino floor.  But the food at the buffet was excellent.  It was $45, but included one lobster tail, huge and delicious crab, and of course beverages. 

My problem is I don't have a huge buffet appetite anymore .  So after I had a large slice of prime rib with the lobster and crab, I was full.  I had an off diet dessert (baklava)  and some fruit. 

A cheaper and more sensible place to eat was Lucille Malone's in downtown Blackhawk at the Gilpin casino.   I ate well there for half the price of the buffet, and the food was very good.  They also added a 20% discount for Veterans, so that covered the tip. 

However, one must not wait too long as the place closes in the early evening.

It is right across from Bull Durham, where a visit with a player's card gets a free hot dog, and where I like the gambling.

At the Monarch the only quarter game was NSU deuces.  I played it a good while.  I lost.  I only got a couple dollars in comps. 

At Bull Durham I earned $5 cash back. And what points I did not get paid for will be on my card forever.  They told me last visit that my children could inherit the comps. 

There I play a Nickle game of 7/5 Bonus Poker, but it had progressives, and  playing nickels I won't go broke.

Ameristar had two outbreaks of Covid this year. I just did not go in the door of that place. 

One problem with Blackhawk is it is only gambling.  There are no stores, no shows, no sites to see unless one has a car and drives out a bit.

Also, there is the air quality.  Last visit I went to a bed and breakfast up a hill.  It tired me out walking there.  The town itself is fairly flat and a free shuttle runs to all the casinos.  Walking back to the Monarch is all downhill, although sometimes late at night it seems a bit deserted.  I have not seen trouble there, but I'm very vulnerable now having aged into debility.

The Ace Express casino bus from near where my son Cory lives was fine, but it did not have a bathroom.  It is forty minutes.  

That is a challenge for me.

I paid $25 for the round trip and it came with $20 freeplay in some of the casinos, but the freeplay required some play to qualify.  

I rarely want to play slots.  However, perhaps I should have.  I'll look into it next visit.  I could use the bus freeplay right across the street from the Monarch at the Isle of Capri.

I ended up giving my freeplay to a fellow at the bus stop named Doug.  We had a long talk there, and he told me he had been rich and gambled it all away.  Now he was just getting along, with his dogs, and a cheap place to live somewhere.

He was interesting enough. He liked that I was a teacher.

The ride up and back was very scenic, all steep mountain like hills covered in pine.  And from the height of the bus I could see the stream that the road followed.  It was really beautiful.

I enjoyed my time there, but I lost $400.  Too much for just 4 nights.  For 13 days in Vegas I lost $695, but got better comps and a fine room for just fifty dollars total a night.  I ate 8 free meals. The room was not as plush as the Monarch, but had a refrigerator.

I certainly would go again to Blackhawk, but I like Vegas better.