"Louie Louie...Oh No!..."

No, not the "Louie Louie" of legendary music fame.
That is just what the millennials call "click bait" and yeah, I am as guilty as anyone of spinning that stuff from time to time.

Actually, here I am referring to "Louie" the tournament Texas hold'em poker player of Sacramento's now defunct Casino Royale fame. I played with Louie in a number of tournaments at that Casino although it was not my preferred location for weekday events.

I would often begin the day at Capital Casino and at times would be eliminated early. There was no reentry option at Capital back then so when it happened, I and few others would race up the freeway a few miles to what we called " Plan B", actually Casino Royale, to enter their tournament. Timing was usually tight though as both tourneys began at the same time and entries closed an hour or so after they started.

Louies favorite, Casino Royale

Louie was a quiet, friendly old guy, bearded, possibly of Mexican-American descent.  With a habit common to  more than a few tournament players, he carried a back pack filled with a lot of sundries one might include in anticipation of a long day at the tables. I think most people, upon meeting Louie would think of him as a sweet, innocent old man....(kinda like me without the "sweet" and "innocent" part).

Not a particularly good poker player, Louie nonetheless showed up  at the Royale regularly and made contributions in the form of tournament entry fees. Over time, I noticed he also liked to occasionally pull out a small spiral pad and make notes. I thought it might have been to note play details for his future reference as some of the more serious players do.

One day at a Capital Casino I overheard another tournament player mention Louie's name and when I asked was told he had been banned from play at the Casino Royale. Apparently Louie had been pocketing chips from his tournament stack for use in later events.  He must have thought by adding accumulated chips it would give him more chances to end up cashing in some future tourney. I am guessing his notes may have included a running total of chips he had stored in his famous back pack.

Around that time, Capital Casino added a reentry option to tournaments there and that ended our rush to join the "Plan B" event at the Royale. Not long after, I heard that the Royale had let Louie rejoin the tournaments there and as a result many of their regulars had angrily quit patronizing it.

The Casino Royale later moved and then closed.  I don't know what happened to Louie. He is the only known cheater I have encountered in a dozen years of studying the nuances of playing tournament hold'em poker.

I kinda' miss old Louie. Sure he was cheating, but I don't think I ever saw him hit a final table let alone cash.

Hold'em Poker in D'moin Aye Owe Eh

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Remember your first poker tournament?  Or any sort of tournament?  I do.  I wrote about it. 

July 17, 2007

Des Moines:  DeeMoeen. D'moin.

Iowa:  EyeOA.  Eyeohwah. AyeOweEh.

West Des Moines to be more precise.  I was there on the job…or more precisely three consecutive jobs that would last almost three months. I would make an occasional weekend trip home to Sacramento to show my driver’s license at our door and beg admittance. After a couple of days though, the three beautiful ladies there (wife Julieann, daughter Samantha and Goldy Molly) would tire of my manly habits and wave goodbye sadly(happily) as I headed for the next plane.

West Des Moines is a shining example of modern suburbia. It is a fairly large sized community full of good people that doesn’t seem to have a single building more than twenty years old. It has a huge modern mall and, under construction, one of those live, work, play integrated communities that looks like it is designed for folks to walk everywhere. All in all, a very nice place filled with terrific, hard working folks. It is a great snapshot of America as it seems it should be.

That is not what this story is about though. It’s not about my usual road warrior story either…what I had for dinner (although I know Bob Bunker would prefer I go there).

It’s about gambling. That’s right. It’s the “C’mon dice! Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!” kind of gambling. For the past year or so, when home and in hotel rooms I have been cranking up the tube in the evening and dialing in whatever Texas hold’em poker game happened to be on. Then, while that was playing I would fire up my Mac laptop computer, kick in the Internet router connection and play the same game on line for a couple of hours or so. I was learning the ins and outs and through thousands of games with free, play money.  If you have ever checked this out, you know I am one of hundreds of thousands (millions) of folks who are doing the same damn thing.

I had also played a few live cash games of limit hold’em during my Harley travels in Nevada, not really doing well along the way but figuring I was learning something while having fun. Duh. It doesn’t take much to make me happy sometimes.

Then…I found out there was a casino in the Des Moines area that had poker tables. I would hit them once in a while when laying over on weekends that I had to work.  These guys and ladies were all ages, 21 to 81, male, female, all races, everybody fits. My typical plan was to hit a table with a $100 buy-in and a $3-6 or $4-8 dollar limit game. I made the tables a half dozen times or so and the local good old boys didn’t get too far into my knickers I am proud to say. I may have been down a couple of hundred bucks total.  Cheap lessons and cheap thrills…I was a happy camper.

A week ago I headed to Prairie Meadows north of Des Moines on a Thursday night for some reason.  We had shut down the project at a fairly normal hour and I was anxious to do something.  When I walked into the poker room it was pretty full and I discovered they were just a couple of minutes from beginning a $115 buy-in no-limit Texas hold-em tournament. I figured what the hell; that is just a little more than I would plan to lose in one night so I might as well buy in and learn something. Each player started with 2,500 in chips and we were off! There were 90 entries so the last person would win something over $3,000.

When I sat down I was pretty pumped but I felt pretty good too so I just started playing as I ordinarily would…fairly patient, waiting for cards, rarely bluffing, relying on all my earlier practice to know when I had a good hand and when I didn’t.

I wish I could remember what cards I had the first time I ever went all in. Damn that was cool, saying “all in” and shoving my pile of chips toward the center of the table. I would do it three or four times over the course of the evening and sometime in the third hour I was looking down at roughly 30,000 in chips. I had successfully ridden through the periods of slow hands and the periods of good hands. I was having such a good time I even called Julieann during one of the breaks to tell her I was still in it. More cheap thrills right?!

As we approached four hours, the blinds were something like 1,000-3,000 and we were suddenly at the final table! Ten of us and that meant every one of us would finish in the money. With the high blinds it wasn’t long before three guys were gone. I was dealt an Ace-nine unsuited…what they call a “weak Ace”. I called the 3,000 big blind and most of the table folded until this guy across from me raised another 3,000 or so. I figured it was time for another so I said, “All in.” and felt a little adrenalin fueling things. I probably had 20,000 at the time. The other guy called and we flipped the cards.  He had an Ace-eight unsuited against me. I was thinking I had a pretty good chance, maybe 60-40 to win but an eight hit on the flop and nothing helped on the turn or river so I was out in seventh place. $280 bucks in my pocket and I was pumped. I was thinking if my hand had held up I might have finished in the top 3-5. Wow!

The next Sunday they had a $50 buy-in and I was out mid-way in a field of just over a hundred. Not too good and not too bad. I am not done though. I want to try a few more!  So here’s the deal; saying “All in” and shoving a pile of chips toward the center of a poker table is one damn fine experience. I highly recommend it. I will be watching for chances to try this some more.

Your Friendly Road Warrior Correspondent,

 

Moron Poker - The Nuances

Okay, okay...actually it's not "moron poker" at all. That's just click bait. It should read "more on poker" but that wouldn't entice clickers would it?!

On a good day...
you can hardly see past your chip stack.

It's the game folks. It's the beautiful tournament Texas Hold'em poker game with an infinite mix of players, dealers, tournament directors and many other folks. They all occupy the gambling stage in several acts with many props and every scene is filled with nuances. Together, the people, casino, tables, cards, chips, food and a certain infamous Lady make the complete package.

The players are a wonder to me, a modern day example of how diverse cultures and nationalities could and should work together in the world today.  In general, they are intelligent, hard-working folks who take relaxation in studying and playing the game.  They are bound by a common set of rules that are observed by dealers and enforced by tournament directors.  The players are all in competition but they know the rules and they generally have respect for one another. I have been a fairly avid tournament student for around ten years now and I am still impressed with how everyone gets along...99.9% of the time.

(Exception: yesterday, yes just yesterday I witnessed another player so upset about losing a hand and the ensuing joking he seriously threatened another player with "...see you outside." I quietly went to the Tournament Director and mentioned it along with an observation that I had seen nothing like it in ten years of tournament poker. I just asked them to keep an eye on the player.  The Director actually called their security chief and the chief soon called the offending player aside for a quiet talk. The player returned, there were no further displays and shortly thereafter he was knocked out of the tournament. Later I told the Director I thought she really handled that well.) 

Dealers are typically thoughtful; cautioning experienced players who occasionally mess up and coaching often anxious new players on rules. They are in a constant state of shepherding their flock of 9 or so players while the cards and chips are flying everywhere.  Game time is busy time for dealers and most of them seem to enjoy themselves. They have some genuinely fine smiles and keen senses of humor in common. And they can deal...really well.

Tournament directors function as game experts and Supreme Court Justices of the game, listening to dealers describe elements of a violation or controversial move when they occur, quickly making a decision and keeping the game moving. They also maintain the tournament clock, chip stacks, player seating and basically anything that needs to be done to keep a tournament moving along.  Did I mention security? Oh yeah, that too.

And then, of course there is the ever mystical, fickle, glorious, often uplifting, often ass-kicking Lady Luck. Let's not forget her as she is nipping at your heels every step of the way. She first enters the scene with your simple seat draw. You line up at the cashier's cage, pay your entry fee and are randomly assigned a seat. That seat alone will make or break your day. The cards that land in your seat position will be hot or cold in all possible percentages and will most often vary throughout your poker day.

The patience you use in coping with the seat variance Lady Luck dishes out will be a huge factor in whether you end up at the final table and among other players who cash in the tournament. If you draw an early hot seat, your challenge will be to avoid tilting away your chips by later making careless bets. If you draw an early cold seat, the challenge will be to avoid punting your  remaining short stack of chips, hoping to suck out a win by entering hands where you know you are most likely behind.

Finally, there are the nuances you experience as the game progresses. The chips in front of you must be managed, placed as wagers, shuffled or handled as you await the tale of the cards. Raking and stacking a winning pot is pretty great too! Your cards must be examined and reexamined carefully as the game progresses and you contemplate your next move. You must study the play of your opponents. You must keep track, but not too closely, of distractions around you; table talk, television screens, cell phones, drinks, snacks. And of course, you must win...just often enough to keep you in the game as a matter of finances and interest.

So no folks. It is far from "moron poker." If you are a dedicated tournament player, it is always; "Teach me more on poker." I want to learn, I want to be patient and I want the Lady to visit me regularly. Hell, I'd even suck up if I could track her down.

See you at the final table.

Poker - When You're Losing

Probably the most memorable quote I have heard concerning poker, mainly Texas Hold'em Poker is one from Daniel "Kid Poker" Negraenu.  Someone asked him about the difference between a professional and an amateur poker player.  His answer; "When an amateur is winning, he thinks he is good.  When he is losing, he thinks he is bad."  Here, I believe he is subtly pointing out that we, us amateurs that is, often forget how significant plain old good luck is.

Sure there is plenty of patience and skill involved in the game but Lady Luck is definitely the Big Kahuna.  Around Hold'em tournaments at break time, sad stories abound: "I had xx, the other guy had xx.  The flop came, then the turn came then the river and  then the lucky sob had xxxxx and beat me."  If you are listening you hear these stories at a ratio easily exceeding 10:1 in favor of "sad" as opposed to "glad."  My overall calculation of the factors it takes to win at the game, in another story in another time, goes like this: Luck, 25%; Skill, 25%; Patience, 25%; and finally Luck again, 25%.  Yeah, yeah Vern I know I have made this point before... right here...in this entry: "Aces in Places"

If you are a fairly long-term amateur like me, sometimes those hard luck stories hit you personally and if they occur close together you start feeling the Negraenu syndrome - like you are a "bad" player.

The spoils of a hold'em game...

Case in Point:  Yesterday (Sunday) I was in the weekly tourney on my home court (Capital Casino) and I had an extraordinary run of luck, as in "bad luck."  The same guy (Let's call him "Lucky SOB") nailed me three times with *suck-outs.

The very first hand of the tournament, I looked down at pocket Aces, slowed played them a little to build the pot and lost to Lucky SOB who had King, Jack off-suit and hit two pair.  Okay, no serious damage as I only dropped about 1/6th of my stack.  A little later I look down at an Ace-Jack off-suit, smooth call the blinds and flop Ace, Jack.  Again trying to draw action I put in a small bet and get a couple of calls.  The cards play out and I end up losing over half my stack to to Lucky SOB who rivered a straight.  Next, I have worked my stack back up and my pocket tens get short stack shoved by a different player with pocket Queens that hold up.

I hang steady for another hour or two, and build my stack up a little.  We have redrawn twice and my new table includes the guy who sucked out on me twice earlier.  The blinds are almost a third of my stack at 1,600 and I am in the big blind.  I look down at pocket tens.  Every one folds behind me except Lucky SOB who calls my blind.  I figure I can get him this time so I shove my stack of 6,000+ and he calls damn near immediately.  He turns over Queen, Seven of diamonds.  the board plays out and on the river he ends up wrapping a straight around the 7 so I am out.  Lucky SOB has nailed me three times including the very beginning and the very end.  I have never been zapped by one player so many times before.

My chip stack at it's peak that day...

And you are absolutely right Daniel, the whole deal made me feel like a crappy player.  But I will be back soon because the week before that...I absolutely kicked ass and cashed three times for thousands.  That's how she goes though...old Lady Luck - she gives you a smooch one day and whacks you with a hammer the next saying; "Let's not get too full of ourselves dooooooood."

*Suck Out - When someone with a lesser hand wins.

Luck Of The Draw - Where Poker Begins

Texas Hold'em poker tournaments are like a reflecting pool on life. Take a close look at the features of one and you may see most or all the features of the other.  I mean you don't choose anything about your start in life. Parents, race, location are all the luck of the draw right?  But they are all reflected in you. A poker tournaments begins the same way. You don't choose your seat.  Yet the game unfolds with many similarities to life.  And sometimes....sometimes it is almost to much to take in at once.

You walk up to the registration window, pay your entry fee and are handed a random card or ticket by the person there.  It tells you what table and what seat you are beginning the tournament with.  As the tournament progresses you may be moved around as part of a process the director uses to keep player numbers balanced at the tables.  Typically, this happens as other contestants are knocked out and there are fewer tables needed.

So your seat and table draw is where Lady Luck first enters the scene.  As the tournament progresses with "cards in the air" certain seats end up luckier than others.  Most often, momentum shifts among seats and the luck moves around.  This is most always the case but every once in while, the Lady hovers over one seat for a long, long time.  When this happens, even an average or below average player can run up a big stack of chips just going with the flow of cards.  In poker parlance, this is called a "heater" or a "run" and maybe some other names I am not familiar with.

On a recent Saturday at my local favorite haunt, Sacramento's Capital Casino, I witnessed a rare, extended run on a seat at a table near mine.  In my seven years of getting poker lessons (Yes Vern, each tournament is a lesson) I have seen maybe one other like it.

From what I could tell, the player was hitting everything he went for.  The proof was a huge stack of chips in comparison with the average stack among the rest of us.  I am guessing he had over 200,000 compared to an average of 20,000.  Over the years I had seen some great runs but quite as wild as this one...

But there was one thing I didn't notice as his action was going on behind me - I would just turn and look occasionally when the other players at his table would make a "holy crap he hit again" type noise like "OOOOOoooohhhhh!"  The thing I didn't notice, but heard about some time after, was that the player was so excited about his run of luck, he was ordering himself beers two at a time. (I should probably point out here that 99% or more poker players don't drink at all during a tournament.)

Then, it was fairly late in the tournament, only two tables left out of seven that started, maybe 20 players left out of seventy.  I noticed movement, looked up and saw our tournament director gently sliding the lucky player, who was passed out in his chair, away from our tables and into a corner of the casino.  I swear there was a smile on the player's face as he and his chair slid by.  The director then parked him in a corner where he slumped over his arms on a small table and appeared to be sleeping.

A few minutes later, he barfed all over the table and floor in front of him.  The director and pit boss then slid him and his chair out of the casino to the sidewalk and two security guards were assigned to watch over him.  The casino staff quickly cleaned up the mess and things sort of returned to normal.  What wasn't normal was the large stack of chips the player left in his original seat position.  This meant that he would be dealt hands that would be automatically folded by the dealer and that his chip stack would draw down as his turn for blinds and antes came around.

It wasn't long after that I was knocked out of the tournament and left.  A couple days later I asked the director how it all ended.  He told me the player remained passed out for about two and a half hours then recovered somewhat.  After some discussion, the director determined the player was capable of returning to the game so he did...with chips left of course.  The last three players, including the two-beer man with the lucky seat ended up chopping for a couple thousand dollars each.

There is a moral here somewhere I guess - sometimes Lady Luck will hang around and crown you even when you don't necessarily deserve it.

And yes Vern, the casino was practicing some seriously good customer service that day...

Chasing the "Cheese*

Once you have played live Texas Hold'em poker tournaments a while you come to the realization that, as in life, anything can happen. Consider three of the tournaments I have failed miserably in over the past couple or weeks:

One of those fine days when I won all the "cheese."
Here , the tournament director is forking it over,
thank you Mark Pritchett

The first occurred when I caught Jack, nine off suit pockets (first two down cards in my hand) five, yes five times in the first hour. The first two times I called small blinds just to ride along and see if I might catch anything on the flop (first three common cards dealer turns face up on the board). The flop gave me open ended straight draws both times (not a bad thing) so I hung on as long as the bets weren't too big. Sure enough the bets on the table got too big for me to test the odds (about 16% each to hit on the last two cards, "turn and river") so I folded. The third time I caught them I hung around and hit two pair on the flop. I eventually had to fold as the board showed too may hands that could beat me then two large wagers convinced me someone had hit (sure enough straights appeared on the showdown). I caught the same pocket two more times and dumped them in disgust pre-flop (something I should have done the first three times).

The lesson here; quit chasing mediocre hands even when the blinds are really small.

A tournament or two later I caught pocket Aces three times in the first hour. This is a hand that wins approximately 72% of the time but not that day. The first time I was beat by a bigger hand (two pair or something bigger I forget).  The second time I won a small amount as no other players had good enough draws to stay in the hand with me. The third time I chopped with another player who also had pocket Aces. The likelihood of drawing pocket Aces is less than 1 in 200 but that day I caught them three times right?!  To win just one of the hands was also defying the odds...in a bad way. That left me shaking my head well through the first tournament break and into the third hour when, you guessed it, pocket Aces knocked me and my lesser hand out of the tournament.

The lesson here; Lady Luck doesn't always smile on you, you pitiful poker player Campbell.

A tournament or two later I caught some more mighty fine appearing hands, again in the first hour of the tournament. Three times I caught strong Ace pockets. Ace, Jack of hearts, Ace, King of diamonds and Ace, King of hearts. Each time I made it to the flop and each time caught flush draws. A nut flush draw off the flop has a one in five chance of hitting each time on the next two cards. I managed to miss all three and by that time I was once again knocked out of a tournament....go figure.

The lesson here; Lady Luck has a way of rubbing it in doesn't she?!

I don't know. I would guess the chances of any one of these three situations occurring in many years of poker are pretty slim but then again, "anything can happen" right?!

Yes Sir it all happened right here at Sacramento's famous Capital Casino.  If you should visit, you may occasionally spot a famous player such as...well, you know...

*You may have already guessed that "Cheese" is cash in poker vernacular...cold, hard cash.

The River

The "River"
Otherwise known as "Fifth Street"

The Pocket

In the game of chance: Texas Hold'em

In Hold'em, each player at the table
Is dealt two cards, face down
This is called the "Pocket"
No other players can see them
If you protect them properly that is

Next comes the "Flop"
Three cards face up on the table
To be shared by each player
In determining the best hand

Next; the "Turn" or "Fourth Street"
Is turned up on the table to join the first three
Finally the "River or "Fifth Street"
A card that has made and destroyed many fortunes.

Wagers are placed
At the completion of each step
The "Pocket", the "Flop", "Fourth" and "Fifth Street"
The player with the best combination of five cards wins

Tournaments typically begin
With many tables of 10 players each
As each players loses all their chips
They are eliminated from the competition

When the last 10 players remain
The "Final Table" is formed
And each is typically "in the money"

From there they play on until the last person remains
Or until the players mutually agree to "chop" or tie
For the remaining cash pay outs

Yesterday, from a beginning field of 80 or so
I made the final table
I was a little "short stacked" or behind the average chip count
But at about 35,000 I had a fair share

In the second hand my pocket was Ace and Ten of Hearts
Blinds and antes were fairly high at that time
So there were over 10 thousand in chips in the pot
Before wagering even began

One player in front of me
Placed a raise to 12,000 chips
To call would have taken almost half my chips
I guessed my opponent had a middle pair

I decided I could out race him
So I shoved my chips in the pot; "All-in"
The remaining players folded to the raiser
Who called my all-in bet and showed pocket queens

The Flop came, a small heart and two Aces
Giving me a huge lead with a Set of Aces
The Turn came, a King of Hearts
Giving me a flush draw on top of my set

The River.... a Queen of Hearts
Giving me a flush as well as a set
But giving my opponent a full house
Queens over Aces

Some amazing cards hit that table
And I got "Rivered"
Knocked out of the tournament in 10th place
With a little cash and a bruise from Lady Luck

I left a huge stack of chips back there
That was mine for the first six cards
If that first heart on the flop would have been a Jack
I would have had a Royal Straight Flush

Damn I love this game!

Poker is...

... a Muthaf___a!

Recently I recently heard a great professional poker player and keen wit, Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu say this about the problem with poker amateurs; "When they are winning they think they are good and when they are losing they think they are bad."

I caught this hand... this week!
Four Aces for my first time ever I think.

The beginning of July, I started tracking my tournament results using notes on my calendar.  Here's how it stacks up. In the past five weeks I have finished in the money 12 times including a couple of "chops" (ties) for first. This translates to 12 top ten finishes among a field averaging 80 or more players. Twelve for 28 and I am money ahead yes, but not enough to quit my day job. Yet, in the past two days I have had my ass kicked and that has happened many times before. Whenever it does happen, I leave the casino like most players in that situation; head low, muttering; "School let out early today and my grade wasn't good." and second guessing my play. 

I will be back in school on Sunday though. I'll be hoping to cleverly use just the right combination of loose, aggressive and tight play to befuddle my opponents and make them call when they shouldn't and fold when they shouldn't. I will be shuffling chips, sipping coffee, checking my iPhone, studying player faces (I hardly ever get anything out of this), and looking for "tells" (I know a few but am not sure what to do when I see them). When I am winning I will think I am good and when I am losing I will think I am bad just as Daniel says but I love it just the same. That's why poker is a Muthaf___a.

For additional amateur insight, see Pocket Aces - "Dat Metaphor" and  "Poker - more on "Dat Metaphor".

For info and a preview about how we got to this point click here: "Travel On"  

Update: 7/23/2018 - Seven years later and nothing, I mean nothing has changed. I continue to catch good and bad runs and play as before. Last week was so bad (How bad was it?!)...it was so bad I have to write about it to bleed a little figurative ink. In three successive tournaments this is what happened. In order:

1. Two sets, Jacks and nines "cracked."  (In poker vernacular that means beat...beat by bigger hands.
2. Pocket Kings, then Tens, then Queens cracked.
3. A set of ducks (deuces), and pockets Aces twice(!) cracked.

That is what is called a "bad run" folks. All players hear stories like this from their fellow players to the point they are tired of it. This is why I hesitated to write about it but I just couldn't help myself. Sorry. Not.  

Poker - more on "Dat Metaphor"

Luck.  Patience.  Skill.  Luck.
After several years study of the art of poker
He concluded it was a metaphor for life
... Sort of.

Made up of 4 equal components
The first and last being the same
And therefore a lot more equal

Luck borne from the deal of life
You begin with two  certain "cards"
Your environment and your attributes
Face down, your "pocket" is the beginning

Patience drives your ability to moderate
To play your cards when the time is right
To play your life, "pushing" when there is opportunity
Pulling back, "folding" to see another day and a better chance
When you see that the time is wrong

Skill becomes strength
And at times weakness
Out of periodic self doubt
Over time it keeps you in the game longer

Luck again surfaces
And drives the "Beat"
The rhythm of your life
Sometimes taking you to the "Final Table"
A long and satisfying road
But then sometimes it takes you to the "Felt"
An early demise

When you are "felted"
You get back up
Parlay the four components again
Renew the cycle
Shuffle the deck
Reload optomism and hope

(See also: Pocket Aces - "Dat Metaphor")

("Pushing - to bet all your remaining chips - to go "all in". "Pocket" - your first two cards in Texas Hold-em, dealt face down. The remaining five cards are shared by all players.  "Beat" - the way the cards fall - if you spend time pulling a lot of bad cards, they say you are experiencing a "Bad beat".  "Final Table" - Tournaments typically begin with multiple tables - when all but ten players are eliminated they convene at the "Final Table" where there is typically a graduated pay-off for each of the ten spots. "Felt" - when a player is wiped out and has no more chips.  All that remains in front of him is the felt that typically covers the table.)