RIVERS ON EASTER

 

RIVERS CASINO EASTER SUNDAY 2023

I went for an overnight at Rivers Casino Schenectady. That frees me up from driving at night. Prices are up. The best I could do was $116 total, and talking to the desk confirmed that it was a very good price. Even with Veteran's or AAA I could not get the price below $130 plus at any time over the next couple months. Trivago has a special section with prices lower than that for almost every day. The special box with the best prices is called Agoda.

The room was nice, even had a refrigerator. Coffee is the problem. Next time I'll bring my own pot and coffee. There is none in the rooms, and now they stopped making it down at the bar.

However, there is a good desk for the computer, plenty of electric hook ups, good lighting including over the pillow area of the bed and a comfortable lounge with a great reading lamp and table.  I did not pay for view of the river, but it probably is just a few dollars.  This was a deluxe king on the fifth floor.

I wanted to go on Easter to see if it attracted more than regulars, and I think it did do that, although there were at least three regulars at my table.

When I started, there was one guy at the table who was Mr Raiser. I would rather not have to pay to see flops. So, I did not play a hand for about an hour, not even blinds.

I was playing on a low bankroll, $125 with $75 in my pocket. I'm hoping to go to Mohegan Sun and Foxwood nect weekend, so I wanted to contain my losses.

In early position I was dealt A-K offsuit. I checked. Often this is a good place to raise, but Mr Raiser changes the dynamics of the game. 

 The flop came a king and two hearts. 

 I checked again. 

And Mr. Raiser made a healthy bet that took out the players between us. I pushed All-IN. The guy to my left also called. Both these guys were chasing heart flushes. No heart came to help them, and so I tripled up.

I took one more hand from Mr. Raiser, by luck when my suited Q-9 pulled two pair and beat his single Q with higher kicker.

I was doing fairly good.

So, I was getting ready to leave when Mr. Raiser in seat 5 decided to leave. I took his seat so I could see better and decided to stay at what would now be my ideal game, one where I could see easily and probably would see more free flops.

However,  in spite of a better seat and better game dynamics I just kept losing over the afternoon until I left down $19, which felt like a huge loss. 

 Ironic to win on a hard table and lose on an easy one.

The video poker was better.

I've just learned the Double Double Bonus poker after putting the Rivers pay table into my Zam Zow tutor, and wanted to play that.

One question I have is whether to save a low kicker when dealt three aces.  I know my tutor once recommended that, but when I got the Rivers pay table installed, it says just to hold the three aces.  I held the kicker twice, but I think that was a poor odds decision.

 I played for a few hours and broke even. Then  to bed at 10:30, well over my bedtime.

I woke at 4:30 and could not get back to sleep, but I was very tired. I don't like morning poker at Rivers because 2-6 players are playing 1-3 and waiting for the 2-6 table to open. It had not opened on Easter, but gradually those players switched tables until they had what amounted to a 2-6 game with regulars they knew. At a 1-3 table 2-6 regulars are all Mr. Raiser.

So, I decided I'd just concentrate on video poker and go home early. That was a good choice. I have these days when I am tired and just need to sleep. I went home too exhausted to unpack and slept 5 hours.

This is why I don't plan much. I used to have homegames here, but I don't trust my sleeping to prepare me for the fun of them.

I did see one of the old players, Slink, who was a regular and a gambling friend for a while. We every shared a room in downtown Vegas one year. Slink was disappointed that they canceled the poker tournament and did not put that on Bravo. He plays mostly tournaments. (I have to visit the bathroom too often to play tournaments anymore.)  It was great to see and talk with him.

I also ran into Mike Ferraro, another friend on Facebook. It was great to see him and find he was doing well.

The video poker was up and down; generally down, but not by much. I was ready to leave and suddenly dealt two deuces and drew 2-2-3 for a decent win. So, I left ahead $50 and have money for Connecticut. 

 There I'm staying three nights, so if I get an off day, I can sleep right in the hotel.

My Italian restaurant near Rivers is closed up for good.

I don't much like the food at Rivers, but I remembered liking Mien, a place for Asian dishes and decided to go off diet for supper.

It was very good and I'll go again. The spring rolls were crispy and good, the sweet and sour soup very good, and the General Tso's chicken well cooked. I have not had that in a decade.

I sat at a bench and an Asian woman sat next to me at the next table. We nodded, but did not visit. She was attractive, conservative, perhaps in her 40's or early 50's.

When I finished, I took out my charge card to pay and she leaned over and said, “Just put that away, I'm paying for your supper.” I protested, but she said that she had a lot of money and besides would pay with points. She gets so many points, the expire.

So, I had a $28 free meal on a delightful woman.

She asked me if I had won that day, and I said I had lost, but I was staying overnight so I'd get it back the next day.  That was a good way to check if she had an hidden agendas.

The only bothersome thing she said was, “ Someone will take care of me like this when I am as old as you.    

Well, thank you Nina, very kind. I left the tip as that cannot be paid in points.

I earn some poker comps, but the video poker does not give points because it is all full pay.

With summer coming I may not get a room again. I could arrive just before noon, when the high hand promo runs, play until just after rush hour, and still avoid driving home in the dark.

The place was empty of room guests.Wouldn't they make more by offering some deals. They used to have a seniors night for $55 plus tax, but that promotion is unlikely to come back.