Day One

Friday. March 24th 2006

Friday is my last day at the office, so of course I came in around 11 after meeting a few friends for one final going away breakfast. After finishing up a few final pieces of documentation, and saying a few tearful goodbyes to friends. I walked back upstairs to a surpise going away party, complete with cake and friends. Pat made a nice speech about how much I would NOT be missed, and capped it off with a nice piece of cake in the face. What a send off!

I had planned to leave around 2:00 but didn't get away until 2:30 with all the surpises and goodbyes, but once I did I had everything I owned packed in my car and was on the first interstate out of town. Vegas here I come! Arrive in Tunica around 7 and check into my room at Sam's Town (which they tried to cancel but I got lucky and noone had taken it. What f'ing casino cancels a room reservation because you don't arrive before 6 PM! Sheesh). Drop the luggage in the room and head straight to the room. I am at Sam's Town because noone else had anything, and I need to put in 10 hours over 2 nights to get the poker rate for 2 nights. So I figured hit it on Friday and see how it goes. Sam's spreads 2/4, 3/6 and 4/8. The 2/4 is filled with "Professional Idiots". You know the type, the ones who sit there with their ipod, glasses and stare you down before they call a $2 bet on the river into a $70 pot, and then criticize the other players. If you are raising with 8/6 off at a table where 9 people see the flop every hand... you do NOT get to criticize anyone's play.

I sit at the 3/6 table and it is just flat out superb. A few decent players, but noone playing anything more than their hand and most playing a whole lot less. One girl to my left who is a "Professional Bar player" and is going to win a seat in the world series doing that... yeah I bet, who tells me that the "Low Cards are hitting so she is playing the low stuff". The cards that night are absolutely horrible, AK a few times all rivered by various two pairs and runner runner straights. My only pocket pairs are 2's and 5's once each. I manage to get a few draws to come in, and some check/raises before people catch on and stop betting into me (which helped me hit my draws more). I stayed there from 8 PM to 3:00 AM and the table turned over 3 times during that, so not much stability but still good.

One funny hand from the night. QJ in late position with 7 players and I limp in. Flop is J72. Checked to me so I raise and called around. River is a 5, checked around again and I raise only 4 callers. River is another J and I raise of course holding 3 J's and show when I am called down. Everyone mucks face down and the pot comes my way. One girl at the table remarks "You rivered me, I flopped a set of 2's". I had to stop for a few mins to make sure I heard her right, you mean you had pocket 2's? She said yeah and one on the flop. So I said "So you folded a full house?" and she stopped for a few mins before hanging her head in shame. I thought about giving the money back to her, but didn't. Turn your cards up and stop trying to be slick by mucking face down.

Ended the night on a nice run and finished up $297. Not a bad start to the trip. The people at Sam's are very nice, Dealers are friendly and efficient, Floor didn't make any mistakes I saw. They are the only smoking Poker Room in Tuica so you can imagine the crowd they attract. The weekend brush Connie was awesome and always willing to help out (not to mention pretty cute). Apparently she deals during the week and brushes on the weekend, so I will have to see how good of a dealer she is later this week.