TR Day 2 Long. Tao and Mandalay Bay poker room.
08-30-2010
, 12:38 AM
Day 1
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Day 2.
Do rock stars get hangovers? How in the world do those guys manage to play back to back nights. I’m moving slow Friday morning and feel a sinus headache coming along (my form of a hangover). Wife also moving slowly but still tried to make a move on me. I’m unresponsive. Crappy timing. I think she was just calling my bluff. We shower up and prepare to head down and meet up with 4 of our compadres from last night and Pete and R who just flew in.
We meet at Raffles Café, Mandalay Bay’s 24 Hour coffee shop. Ask around how everyone is doing and all say they are fine. Get table for 8 and I am really ready to get some caffeine and calories in me. It’s lunchtime but I want breakfast. We order eggs/hash browns/ham steak/toast and a separate order of eggs and an order of pancakes. I figure a Pepsi will do me well but I get it and it’s way to sweet. I think their fountain is not spitting out the soda part and only dispensing the syrup. I have to flag down the elder gentleman who is our waiter. He’s a bit annoyed when I send the Pepsi back for a coffee. I’d be annoyed in his shoes to. Food tastes good except for the pancake. I’ve become a bit of a pancake snob over the past year after I figured out how to make them and this one is about as bad as I’ve had. Rubbery texture and no taste. Unfortunately Pete and R have to listen to us as we regale each other of the previous nights highlight at Tryst. They are really close friends and I literally begged them to change their outbound flight to join us but they couldn’t. Would have been even more fun if they were there. I notice my attorney buddy has only eaten about 2 bites of his gardenburger. He’s obv not feeling as well as he let on. We wrap up and decide to head over to the poker room and attorney goes back to his room.
There’s a $50 tournament at 1pm and we decide to try it out knowing it’s a crappy structure. 2000 chips and 15 min blind levels. I’d have rather played the 2:30 P Ho tourney where you get 3000 or 3500 chips and 20 min levels but no one is in the mood to cab it there and all. Wife decides to sit at $1/$2 cash game instead. MB poker room is busier than what I expected and we had 3 tables for the tourney. I know this is going to be a luckfest and try my hand at being patient for a hand. Doesn’t really happen and I quickly get under 10 BB so when I get KT on the button and it folds to me I shove figureing an easy steal of blinds and antes. BB wakes up with aces and poof I’m out. Fortunately my cousin brought me some Sudafed and I down it hoping for relief. No one from our group ends up cashing. I think first place was about $650.
I quickly get a seat at $1/$2 cash table and try not to check up too closely on wife. Hope she is doing OK. We are at separate tables. I am not a great cash player and basically try and stick to an ABC TAG style and hope someone has the second best hand to try and double up. Then if I’ve built stack I’ve usually downed enough Rusty Nails by then to where I switch to LAG style (so much more fun) just to keep things balanced. When I try and force action right away it usually backfires. Unfortunately I can’t remember any hands from this session but I manage to finish up $57 to make back up for my tourney loss. I do remember it’s the only time I finished in the black but didn’t thoroughly enjoy the playing experience mainly because I was constantly getting texts/phone calls from my receptionist back in Dallas and from friends who are on their way into town.
After a bit wife and I decide to go on up to check into our new room (we had a very loud family with small kids who kept rattling the door knob this morning and we couldn’t sleep. We have kids too and understand but this was too much) and get some rest for tonight’s activities.
We are to have dinner for 8 at Canaletto which is at the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes and then we meet everyone at Tao. I’m not able to really nap but at least get some bodily rest. Wife lost her short buyin and relates her hand history to me where her QQ lost to a straight on the river. After dissecting the hand she agrees she didn’t price out draws on the flop and turn. The guy who made the straight had rags. Her PF raise had been fine. I’m really grateful my wife enjoys playing poker. But I kind of wish she took constructive criticism better of course.
Most of my friend’s wives will only play our cheapie home games socially but are not comfortable playing in a Vegas card room even though I know they’d do OK b/c they’re so tight. I do get it though. In my blackjack days long ago when I’d pass by a poker room I was too intimidated to go play there because it was you against several other players where as in BJ it’s like you and the other players vs. dealer. That and the fact I didn’t know the basic rules of poker. Pete’s wife was like this until we took a 1 day trip to Choctaw casino 1 hour north of Dallas and after one session she is totally comfy sitting at the low stakes cash tables. One day there will be a poker room manager who will figure out out to attract the ladies and you will see another boom. If it were me I’d start a ladies only table (if that’s legal) and promote it within reason. It’s all about getting their feet wet and a couple of drinks to loosen up. Tell me what other casino table game you can sit at and only be obligated to wager $3 every 15-20 minutes or so and be served “free” drinks?
Anyway we just take it easy the rest of the afternoon and then shower up, change and head to cab stand where Pete and R are waiting. We have a nice cabbie i.e. he takes the most direct route to destination and we make the walk to restaurant. We are a little late to Canaletto but staff seems OK with it. I’m guessing restaurants in Vegas are used to people running behind b/c it take much longer to reach wherever you are going even though the overall distances are not much. I had asked for a round table at edge of their patio which overlooks St Marks square. They only have one but the rectangular one looks good to where we can all easily converse with each other.
The “outdoor” ambiance is relaxing and there’s a opera singer belting out tunes on the square. Next door is Enoteca San Marco ( a Battali place) and Postrio (W. Puck’s place). I’m not really hungry even though I’ve only had one meal so far. I guess I’ve just lazed around all day and burned no calories. Headache is gone but I stick with iced tea for now. Attorney hasn’t been able to keep food/water down all day apparently but looks OK. He gets some soup and bread and does fine. Pete and R are more refreshed than the rest of us as it’s their first night in town and Pete has been very proud of his new shirt he bought for the trip. It one of those long sleeved party shirts that is black and has like a black felt fleur dy lys patterns over the front right side and across the back. He can’t stop touching his shirt. Our server is very nice and she thankfully avoids asking if we want “sparkling or still”.
Ok, here’s my drinking water rant. Like many of you probably I grew up playing outside unattended to and when you were thirsty you opened up a garden hose tap till the water flowing out wasn’t hot any more and then drank from the hose till you were full. Didn’t matter if it tasted like rubbery plastic. I wouldn’t do it now knowing what we know about plastics and their byproducts but I’m still alive. I also have seen other parts of the world where abundant drinking water is not a possibility. The fact that you can go anywhere in the US and open up any bathroom or kitchen tap and be perfectly safe drinking from it is an amazing luxury comparatively speaking. So the proliferation of the bottled water industry is a bit annoying to me. Another case of great marketing. I’m done.
I order the veal scallopini and tell my vegetarian friend sitting next to me it’s chicken. Not sure what the point of that was. The dish was underwhelming. If you pound veal and it’s still this tough then geez. Wife wasn’t happy with her sea bass. From the texture I wondered if it had been previously frozen. She exchanged it for some giant prawns and they were quite the crustaceans served in their split shells in a tomato cream sauce. Not bad. Best dish was a smoked salmon pizza one of us had. Even though my dish wasn’t great I def go back again. I enjoyed to service/atmosphere I guess. JayLV texts me and asks if we need any help tonight at Tao. As we wind up with some coffees/cappucinos/desserts I look at Pete’s hands and his palms are soot black! I ask him where he got his shirt and he says “Kohls”. Laughter arises from the table. I then ask him to look at his hands. More laughter. When it’s suggested he rub his private parts with his hands and then check for size enhancement afterwards it’s ROFL.
We take the short walk over to Tao at 10:30 and the line is staggering. Tao is directly above the Venetian poker room and all these years I never knew it was right there. Good sound insulation I guess. One of our friends is a VP in the hospitality biz and has been able to use a contact she knows to get all 24 of us in gratis and skip the line. We get the requisite hand stamp and ID check and enter Tao. After going though the restaurant and up the stairs I’m amazed at how crowded the place is. I feel sorry for those in line. I don’t see how they can get in. It is tough to walk from from one part of the club to another due to the sardine factor. This is a very large nightclub but if you don’ thave a table you will never feel it’s spacious.
[img]http://www.*********************/uploads/28c1ee8ab7.jpg[/img]
I squirm over ot the bar that faces the strip and order a Goose/soda and Amstel Light and fork over $22 +tip. We manage to find a railing to stand against near DJ booth that overlooks the dance floor and below us is a large bottle service table with Grey Goose, Patron, Fijis and all the trimmings. It doesn’t take 2 seconds to realize this is going to be very different from last night. Even my friends who were with us from last night have puppy dog eyes as they look down at the private table area and then back at me. Hey guys, “You can only appreciate first class after you’ve been in coach” I’m thinking in my head . I mistakenly show them JayLV’s text where he asks if we need help for tonight. Did puppy dog eyes turn to lightning bolts? Nah. Everyone knows it probably wouldn’t have been right anyway to get a table for 8 when we have 24. I do wonder what happens when one gets a table for X many people and you meet up some others at the club. How many can you invite over? If you know the answer do tell. DJ here is pretty good. Dance floor is so crowded that when we try and go out there we’re basically dancing with our arms at our sides straight down. I quit. There is abthtub and thre are some lovely ladies who secorate it throughout the night:
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On the other side of the club there is the Opium Room which is like a club within a club. Music here is much more current top 40 I’d say. Other DJ in main room played a little edgier type of mix. But we hang out here for about 15 minutes before some other friends who are looking for us find us and tell us where everyone else is hanging out. There is a bar attached to Opium room where there are about 100 small statues of Buddha in various poses and in the corner near an elevator our group is huddled mainly because there is just enough space to where it’s not claustrophobic.
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It really doesn’t have that much atmosphere to it and the girls dance by themselves to a few numbers. I’m sticking to beers tonight thinking they’re easier on me and so I probably won’t overdo things. We hang out till 2am or so then decide to blow this place and convince enough friends to go to the poker room. We head out and take the escalators down to see how it looks. Between a wait list at poker room and many tipsy girls with us it’s decided we’ll just head back to MB and play there. Fine with me. I’d rather have shortest possible trip up to my bed after a long session of cards. Between that decision and getting to MB many of the group becomes hungry and they head over to Raffles for a bite. Wife and I head over to the poker room.
There’s one spot open on $1/$2 and I tell her to take it. There is a spot in the $2/$5 game and I take it telling them to move me when a $1/$2 opens up. I have played 2/5 only once before and was lucky to river a boat on river and have an opp with under-full. Made game much easier after that. I buy in short for $200 and realize fairly quickly this isn’t 1/2 when there are a lot of pots taken down preflop and way more 3 betting than you will see at 1/2 . Doesn’t 3 bet at 1/2 mean AA or KK? Here it meant “I’m going to bluff you off your better hand”. I hope to slow play a hand on someone here but no opportunities. Then table goes 6 handed, then 5 handed, then I wonder why haven’t I been moved to a 1/2 game yet. I say “uncle” and get the lady’s attention who is seating people. She realizes screw up and gets me on a 1/2 table right away. I leave down $50 or so.
This table has the personalities that make playing this game so interesting. I’m in seat 9. Across form me is a Jersey Shore-like guy who is actually form SoCal and is acting stupider than he really is. Next to him is a grimy looking guy with almost no mustache but a beard and he’s sproting a white Laker’s cap that at least used to white. Behind him sits his girl who has a short, cute hairdo but looking at her eyes I can only say they look lifeless with dark shading under them and a tired stare. In seat 4 there is a young internet-looking player (if that is any kind of real descriptor) and he is talking non-stop with annoying chatter and acting slow at every turn. The entire table is clearly annoyed with him and after one orbit I can understand why. Seat 3 runs an elegant bluff on him after young guy rivers 2 pair. Seat 3 bet heavy on that river card which totally threw youngn guy off. He had a tough call to make but since he had played so slow up to this point no one was cutting him any slack. The dealer of all people called time on him (can dealer do this?) and within seconds a floor person came over and said “Sir you have 20 seconds to play your hand”. “Ten seconds”. “5, 4, 3,2,1”. Of course he folds. Seat 3 shows his bluff and young guy is speechless. But only for 2 seconds. After that he can’t help but reiterate how awesome the bluff was and that “Man, All I was thinking is how I was going to value bet the river but then you led out with that bet”. He kept repeating this over and over over the course of several hands and eyes were rolling elsewhere on the table. Eventually he rubs someone else the wrong way and floor asks him to leave. I can’t remember exactly what it was but there was no one in his corner. It was good riddance. All the while I’m not getting any hands to play. It’s a lot of J3, 8,4, etc. I’m card dead until I get 44 and am able to see flop at a good price. Flop is Q4X rainbow and grimy guy in Laker’s cap bets out. I call and it folds elsewhere to get heads up. Turn is a 3 and he checks. I bet, he raises and I move in and he calls. He has me covered. River is a blank and I table my set as he shows his Q3. He gets up quick and storms off leaving his chips on table. His girl then gets up and follows him. I have some chips now and am able to play more hands. I have a tight enough image to where I can win some pots uncontested but I don’t hit any real big scores.
It gets to be about 4:30 am and I decide to cash out ahead and we head off to bed. Wife got unlucky again with QQ but sounds like she played hand fine. Just got in the way of a gambler. She got all in as a 70/30 fave but got drawn out on. She takes it well.
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Day 2.
Do rock stars get hangovers? How in the world do those guys manage to play back to back nights. I’m moving slow Friday morning and feel a sinus headache coming along (my form of a hangover). Wife also moving slowly but still tried to make a move on me. I’m unresponsive. Crappy timing. I think she was just calling my bluff. We shower up and prepare to head down and meet up with 4 of our compadres from last night and Pete and R who just flew in.
We meet at Raffles Café, Mandalay Bay’s 24 Hour coffee shop. Ask around how everyone is doing and all say they are fine. Get table for 8 and I am really ready to get some caffeine and calories in me. It’s lunchtime but I want breakfast. We order eggs/hash browns/ham steak/toast and a separate order of eggs and an order of pancakes. I figure a Pepsi will do me well but I get it and it’s way to sweet. I think their fountain is not spitting out the soda part and only dispensing the syrup. I have to flag down the elder gentleman who is our waiter. He’s a bit annoyed when I send the Pepsi back for a coffee. I’d be annoyed in his shoes to. Food tastes good except for the pancake. I’ve become a bit of a pancake snob over the past year after I figured out how to make them and this one is about as bad as I’ve had. Rubbery texture and no taste. Unfortunately Pete and R have to listen to us as we regale each other of the previous nights highlight at Tryst. They are really close friends and I literally begged them to change their outbound flight to join us but they couldn’t. Would have been even more fun if they were there. I notice my attorney buddy has only eaten about 2 bites of his gardenburger. He’s obv not feeling as well as he let on. We wrap up and decide to head over to the poker room and attorney goes back to his room.
There’s a $50 tournament at 1pm and we decide to try it out knowing it’s a crappy structure. 2000 chips and 15 min blind levels. I’d have rather played the 2:30 P Ho tourney where you get 3000 or 3500 chips and 20 min levels but no one is in the mood to cab it there and all. Wife decides to sit at $1/$2 cash game instead. MB poker room is busier than what I expected and we had 3 tables for the tourney. I know this is going to be a luckfest and try my hand at being patient for a hand. Doesn’t really happen and I quickly get under 10 BB so when I get KT on the button and it folds to me I shove figureing an easy steal of blinds and antes. BB wakes up with aces and poof I’m out. Fortunately my cousin brought me some Sudafed and I down it hoping for relief. No one from our group ends up cashing. I think first place was about $650.
I quickly get a seat at $1/$2 cash table and try not to check up too closely on wife. Hope she is doing OK. We are at separate tables. I am not a great cash player and basically try and stick to an ABC TAG style and hope someone has the second best hand to try and double up. Then if I’ve built stack I’ve usually downed enough Rusty Nails by then to where I switch to LAG style (so much more fun) just to keep things balanced. When I try and force action right away it usually backfires. Unfortunately I can’t remember any hands from this session but I manage to finish up $57 to make back up for my tourney loss. I do remember it’s the only time I finished in the black but didn’t thoroughly enjoy the playing experience mainly because I was constantly getting texts/phone calls from my receptionist back in Dallas and from friends who are on their way into town.
After a bit wife and I decide to go on up to check into our new room (we had a very loud family with small kids who kept rattling the door knob this morning and we couldn’t sleep. We have kids too and understand but this was too much) and get some rest for tonight’s activities.
We are to have dinner for 8 at Canaletto which is at the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes and then we meet everyone at Tao. I’m not able to really nap but at least get some bodily rest. Wife lost her short buyin and relates her hand history to me where her QQ lost to a straight on the river. After dissecting the hand she agrees she didn’t price out draws on the flop and turn. The guy who made the straight had rags. Her PF raise had been fine. I’m really grateful my wife enjoys playing poker. But I kind of wish she took constructive criticism better of course.
Most of my friend’s wives will only play our cheapie home games socially but are not comfortable playing in a Vegas card room even though I know they’d do OK b/c they’re so tight. I do get it though. In my blackjack days long ago when I’d pass by a poker room I was too intimidated to go play there because it was you against several other players where as in BJ it’s like you and the other players vs. dealer. That and the fact I didn’t know the basic rules of poker. Pete’s wife was like this until we took a 1 day trip to Choctaw casino 1 hour north of Dallas and after one session she is totally comfy sitting at the low stakes cash tables. One day there will be a poker room manager who will figure out out to attract the ladies and you will see another boom. If it were me I’d start a ladies only table (if that’s legal) and promote it within reason. It’s all about getting their feet wet and a couple of drinks to loosen up. Tell me what other casino table game you can sit at and only be obligated to wager $3 every 15-20 minutes or so and be served “free” drinks?
Anyway we just take it easy the rest of the afternoon and then shower up, change and head to cab stand where Pete and R are waiting. We have a nice cabbie i.e. he takes the most direct route to destination and we make the walk to restaurant. We are a little late to Canaletto but staff seems OK with it. I’m guessing restaurants in Vegas are used to people running behind b/c it take much longer to reach wherever you are going even though the overall distances are not much. I had asked for a round table at edge of their patio which overlooks St Marks square. They only have one but the rectangular one looks good to where we can all easily converse with each other.
The “outdoor” ambiance is relaxing and there’s a opera singer belting out tunes on the square. Next door is Enoteca San Marco ( a Battali place) and Postrio (W. Puck’s place). I’m not really hungry even though I’ve only had one meal so far. I guess I’ve just lazed around all day and burned no calories. Headache is gone but I stick with iced tea for now. Attorney hasn’t been able to keep food/water down all day apparently but looks OK. He gets some soup and bread and does fine. Pete and R are more refreshed than the rest of us as it’s their first night in town and Pete has been very proud of his new shirt he bought for the trip. It one of those long sleeved party shirts that is black and has like a black felt fleur dy lys patterns over the front right side and across the back. He can’t stop touching his shirt. Our server is very nice and she thankfully avoids asking if we want “sparkling or still”.
Ok, here’s my drinking water rant. Like many of you probably I grew up playing outside unattended to and when you were thirsty you opened up a garden hose tap till the water flowing out wasn’t hot any more and then drank from the hose till you were full. Didn’t matter if it tasted like rubbery plastic. I wouldn’t do it now knowing what we know about plastics and their byproducts but I’m still alive. I also have seen other parts of the world where abundant drinking water is not a possibility. The fact that you can go anywhere in the US and open up any bathroom or kitchen tap and be perfectly safe drinking from it is an amazing luxury comparatively speaking. So the proliferation of the bottled water industry is a bit annoying to me. Another case of great marketing. I’m done.
I order the veal scallopini and tell my vegetarian friend sitting next to me it’s chicken. Not sure what the point of that was. The dish was underwhelming. If you pound veal and it’s still this tough then geez. Wife wasn’t happy with her sea bass. From the texture I wondered if it had been previously frozen. She exchanged it for some giant prawns and they were quite the crustaceans served in their split shells in a tomato cream sauce. Not bad. Best dish was a smoked salmon pizza one of us had. Even though my dish wasn’t great I def go back again. I enjoyed to service/atmosphere I guess. JayLV texts me and asks if we need any help tonight at Tao. As we wind up with some coffees/cappucinos/desserts I look at Pete’s hands and his palms are soot black! I ask him where he got his shirt and he says “Kohls”. Laughter arises from the table. I then ask him to look at his hands. More laughter. When it’s suggested he rub his private parts with his hands and then check for size enhancement afterwards it’s ROFL.
We take the short walk over to Tao at 10:30 and the line is staggering. Tao is directly above the Venetian poker room and all these years I never knew it was right there. Good sound insulation I guess. One of our friends is a VP in the hospitality biz and has been able to use a contact she knows to get all 24 of us in gratis and skip the line. We get the requisite hand stamp and ID check and enter Tao. After going though the restaurant and up the stairs I’m amazed at how crowded the place is. I feel sorry for those in line. I don’t see how they can get in. It is tough to walk from from one part of the club to another due to the sardine factor. This is a very large nightclub but if you don’ thave a table you will never feel it’s spacious.
[img]http://www.*********************/uploads/28c1ee8ab7.jpg[/img]
I squirm over ot the bar that faces the strip and order a Goose/soda and Amstel Light and fork over $22 +tip. We manage to find a railing to stand against near DJ booth that overlooks the dance floor and below us is a large bottle service table with Grey Goose, Patron, Fijis and all the trimmings. It doesn’t take 2 seconds to realize this is going to be very different from last night. Even my friends who were with us from last night have puppy dog eyes as they look down at the private table area and then back at me. Hey guys, “You can only appreciate first class after you’ve been in coach” I’m thinking in my head . I mistakenly show them JayLV’s text where he asks if we need help for tonight. Did puppy dog eyes turn to lightning bolts? Nah. Everyone knows it probably wouldn’t have been right anyway to get a table for 8 when we have 24. I do wonder what happens when one gets a table for X many people and you meet up some others at the club. How many can you invite over? If you know the answer do tell. DJ here is pretty good. Dance floor is so crowded that when we try and go out there we’re basically dancing with our arms at our sides straight down. I quit. There is abthtub and thre are some lovely ladies who secorate it throughout the night:
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On the other side of the club there is the Opium Room which is like a club within a club. Music here is much more current top 40 I’d say. Other DJ in main room played a little edgier type of mix. But we hang out here for about 15 minutes before some other friends who are looking for us find us and tell us where everyone else is hanging out. There is a bar attached to Opium room where there are about 100 small statues of Buddha in various poses and in the corner near an elevator our group is huddled mainly because there is just enough space to where it’s not claustrophobic.
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It really doesn’t have that much atmosphere to it and the girls dance by themselves to a few numbers. I’m sticking to beers tonight thinking they’re easier on me and so I probably won’t overdo things. We hang out till 2am or so then decide to blow this place and convince enough friends to go to the poker room. We head out and take the escalators down to see how it looks. Between a wait list at poker room and many tipsy girls with us it’s decided we’ll just head back to MB and play there. Fine with me. I’d rather have shortest possible trip up to my bed after a long session of cards. Between that decision and getting to MB many of the group becomes hungry and they head over to Raffles for a bite. Wife and I head over to the poker room.
There’s one spot open on $1/$2 and I tell her to take it. There is a spot in the $2/$5 game and I take it telling them to move me when a $1/$2 opens up. I have played 2/5 only once before and was lucky to river a boat on river and have an opp with under-full. Made game much easier after that. I buy in short for $200 and realize fairly quickly this isn’t 1/2 when there are a lot of pots taken down preflop and way more 3 betting than you will see at 1/2 . Doesn’t 3 bet at 1/2 mean AA or KK? Here it meant “I’m going to bluff you off your better hand”. I hope to slow play a hand on someone here but no opportunities. Then table goes 6 handed, then 5 handed, then I wonder why haven’t I been moved to a 1/2 game yet. I say “uncle” and get the lady’s attention who is seating people. She realizes screw up and gets me on a 1/2 table right away. I leave down $50 or so.
This table has the personalities that make playing this game so interesting. I’m in seat 9. Across form me is a Jersey Shore-like guy who is actually form SoCal and is acting stupider than he really is. Next to him is a grimy looking guy with almost no mustache but a beard and he’s sproting a white Laker’s cap that at least used to white. Behind him sits his girl who has a short, cute hairdo but looking at her eyes I can only say they look lifeless with dark shading under them and a tired stare. In seat 4 there is a young internet-looking player (if that is any kind of real descriptor) and he is talking non-stop with annoying chatter and acting slow at every turn. The entire table is clearly annoyed with him and after one orbit I can understand why. Seat 3 runs an elegant bluff on him after young guy rivers 2 pair. Seat 3 bet heavy on that river card which totally threw youngn guy off. He had a tough call to make but since he had played so slow up to this point no one was cutting him any slack. The dealer of all people called time on him (can dealer do this?) and within seconds a floor person came over and said “Sir you have 20 seconds to play your hand”. “Ten seconds”. “5, 4, 3,2,1”. Of course he folds. Seat 3 shows his bluff and young guy is speechless. But only for 2 seconds. After that he can’t help but reiterate how awesome the bluff was and that “Man, All I was thinking is how I was going to value bet the river but then you led out with that bet”. He kept repeating this over and over over the course of several hands and eyes were rolling elsewhere on the table. Eventually he rubs someone else the wrong way and floor asks him to leave. I can’t remember exactly what it was but there was no one in his corner. It was good riddance. All the while I’m not getting any hands to play. It’s a lot of J3, 8,4, etc. I’m card dead until I get 44 and am able to see flop at a good price. Flop is Q4X rainbow and grimy guy in Laker’s cap bets out. I call and it folds elsewhere to get heads up. Turn is a 3 and he checks. I bet, he raises and I move in and he calls. He has me covered. River is a blank and I table my set as he shows his Q3. He gets up quick and storms off leaving his chips on table. His girl then gets up and follows him. I have some chips now and am able to play more hands. I have a tight enough image to where I can win some pots uncontested but I don’t hit any real big scores.
It gets to be about 4:30 am and I decide to cash out ahead and we head off to bed. Wife got unlucky again with QQ but sounds like she played hand fine. Just got in the way of a gambler. She got all in as a 70/30 fave but got drawn out on. She takes it well.
