The Meadows, Summer 2009 - Day 2

Day 2, Friday. $2-5 NLHE at the Bellagio.

Did you miss day 1? Get caught up here.

Day 2 may have been one of the most successful days I have ever had playing poker. Not my largest win but perhaps the best/longest I've ever played really well. I sat at a Bellagio $2-5 game from noon until three in the morning and only had two losing HOURS. I didn't decide to leave and play $5-10, I didn't start playing crazy, just tried really hard to play RIGHT and I think I did. There were several hands where I knew exactly what the other player had and either bluffed or extracted chips just like I should. It was nice, in the middle of what has been a rough year for poker.



But of course the day was not incident free; this is degenerate poker after all. Here's how it went down.

I'm in the 2 seat and a Bellagio dealer is in the 1 seat. Female. (This matters in a sec, hold on.) I guess they can play when they're not dealing if they want. There's a straddle, $10, $10, $10, $10, and she makes it $60 on the button. This seems like a bit of an overbet to me and I look down and find AK.

She's got about $600 in front of her. I think I'm winning so I make it $200 and am perfectly happy winning $100 with Ace-high. Everyone folds around to her. She's not happy. She's got QQ and starts a little rant about how I just did that cause she's a female (not true, I'm just a bad player). She tells me I have AK (yes, correct) asks me if I'll show (I will; I know she'll fold if I agree) and folds QQ face up. I show her AK and the rant goes nuclear.

"Sexist" is the first shot fired followed by other versions of the same. I plead my case briefly but give up. This is a rough thing to say, but she's about as cute as a pittbull and I'm not feeling bad about this at all. I put my headphones in and just keep playing. A few minutes later she's still talking, and my day is going so well I'm able to just ride out the storm. Later she's saying "huh?! huh?!" to me so I take out my headphones and finally ask "what now?" and she now tries the racist card. "Oh, you no understand asians huh? Me no speak-a Engrish, right?" (I assumed you know all women in Vegas are Asian btw.) Finally, when she realizes she's still not getting to me she tries "gay" with something about how her opinion doesn't matter to me since I don't favor the fairer sex. The dealer asks if I want the floor, I consider it, but say no. I'm thinking really clearly and conclude getting her chips is the rest revenge.

An hour later, the hand I'm waiting for happens. I've raised her a few times and she's tight and won't gambol with me but I know she's waiting for her chance. And she thinks this is it.

I raise on the button with QT. 3 callers, including her. $100 in the pot.

Flop: J98. The racist flops it. My new friend glances at my chips! Could this be it? Everyone checks to me and I bet $75. Fold, fold, fold, fold, raise! Oh, mama. This is going to feel goooooood. She's really tight, and plays a little scared so I conclude I shouldn't re-raise yet.

Turn (J98): Q. Bad Beat!!! The board of course is just missing a T for the straight. She audibly reacts to my "luck" and checks to me. I underbet the pot ($125 or so). (Please call, please call.) She folds J9 face up. I know that I can have a little fun with her and she's dying to see my cards, so I let her say a few things and then show her the T. She of course goes ballistic and then at the right moment I table the Q as well. When she sees the Q she stops talking, shall we say "abruptly"? Kinda like the scene in the Matrix where Cypher is pulling the power cords on the good guys in the Matrix. Complaining, complaining, complaining ... silence.

Silence is nice.

And that was the end of that.

Day 2, $3,260. Trip total $4,575.