I went to Atlantic City this week for a buddy's bachelor party. The bachelor party was scheduled for Friday which I had off of work. So I decided late Wednesday that I would head down a bit early on Thursday and get some poker in before I met up with a few friends who were coming down Thursday night. Now I had told myself that I was just going to play for a few hours at the Trop while I waited for them to meet me at Caesar's where we were staying. I completely forgot that traveling on the Thursday leading up to July 4th might be a difficult thing. Traffic.
I got to the Trop later than I wanted, but I still had a few hours until my friends came. I sat down at my standard 1-2NL table and bought in for my standard $200. I sat around for awhile, spent some time surveying the table, no big hands, but still managed to be up about $65 after an hour or so. The table was made up of several people around my age and younger, a few older gentlemen, and a local or two. Pretty standard table at the Trop, and if you ask me, I always get the best mix of good people at the Trop. So I get involved in a hand, make a bad play, and I am suddenly down about $35. I stand up and take a cigarette break and immediately text my friends giving them a status update and looking for one in return. I inform them I am getting antsy, not really winning anything and I am leaving soon.
Then things got interesting.
Let me step back a bit. About a half hour before I stood up from the table, an older (early 50's) gentleman sat down two seats to my left with $200. From this point on we will call him "comb-over". My whole thing with poker is that I try to spend my first 30 minutes at a table studying everyone sitting down with me. I immediately try to categorize their style of play, and then from that point forward I just spend time tweeking my initial assessment. I find that if I make a definitive assessment early, it is easier to remember as I sit there. When a new person sits down, I can usually tell what I am dealing with within 45 seconds. Now that may seem crazy to people who don't play a lot of B&M poker, but just by watching someone sit down, a lot can be learned. Did he stop at the cashier? Did he check in properly? Does he spill his chips taking them out of the rack? What does he do with his hands? Does he watch other people or is he staring at the cards the whole time? Does he have a players card? Does he have an upgraded players card? Is he talkative? Is he nervous? Etc. None of these individual questions can tell you anything, but piecing them together is my personal favorite part of casino poker. All my life I have liked to people watch, and therefore I feel confident in my judgement skills.
So I immediately identify comb-over as a very squirelly, nervous, and tentative player. Extremely tight with his chips and looking forward to mucking his cards every hand.
I was completely wrong.
So now we are up to right before my cigarette break. I get involved in a hand that I raise out initially with comb-over as my only caller. I have second pair with a flush draw. Comb over is smooth calling each of my increasingly larger bets. Par for the course I figure, and when the third spade comes out on the river (I had diamonds) I try to represent the flush and bet big. Comb over smooth calls and shows top pair with garbage kicker. I am flabbergasted, hence the cigarette break. $100 gone in one hand. As I am walking away, I notice him whisper to the guy next to him, "He bet out with second pair?!" He did not notice my flush draw whatsoever. That being said, I am dissappointed with my play since he was smooth calling me, but it was his mannerisms that made me try it.
So I get back from my cigarette break and sit back down. I look at my cards and I have 9's. Love my nines. A few people limp in and it gets around to me and I raise to $15. Everyone folds. Except comb-over. The flop comes out J-9-2 rainbow. Immediately recalling my history with combover, I bet out $35. A pretty heavy bet for the situation that even got a few surprised tones from the other players. Comb-over stares me down for a few seconds and moves all in for another $100. I barely have him covered, I insta-call and immediately flip over my set. Comb-over turns over J-9 and two bricks come on the turn and river. Victory.
It gets better.
Two hands later I am in the big blind. I get dealt 4-6 diamonds. Six people or so limp in, I check my option, and the flop comes out 3-5-7, two diamonds. Sitting on the nuts with the potential for a straight flush I check to my left, and guess who leads out . . . Mr. Comb-over. $20 . . . everyone folds to me so quickly that when I slowly put a pile of chips in my hand and act like I am considering calling, I get a few curious looks from the table. I act as if I hesitantly call and toss my chips in. Comb-over is staring me down the whole time. Turn comes Q (no diamond). This time comb-over checks to me . . . hmmmm, interesting. I bet $35, Comb-Over does THE EXACT SAME STARE DOWN and pushes all his chips in, I insta call and turn over my straight. Comb-over turns over Q-7, and we both watch anxiously as the river comes . . . A of Clubs. I win again.
At this point comb-over is visibly shaken and is reaching in his pocket for more money. Another $200 is placed on the felt and the dealer counts out reds for him. As this is happening, the kid to my left looks at me and says, "Do you two have some sort of history?!" I of course shake my head no.
Two hands later. I flop top pair surrounded by rags. I lead out with a $20 bet and I have one caller . . . comb-over. He smooth calls again. Sheesh. The turn comes Queen, I bet $25 he smooth calls. There is nothing but a king and a queen on the board. No flush draw, no straight draw. The river comes 8 diamonds (putting three diamonds on the board). I check to comb-over and he pushes his whole stack in . . . $85. Oh boy.
So at this point I have to ask myself, does this guy seriously have the balls to push against me after felting him TWICE in the past ten minutes? His smooth calling would indicate he was searching for something, but the second diamond came on the turn, so this whole scenario stinks. I think about it for awhile, actually saying to myself out loud, "this guy has balls." If I make a call and he has me beat, I am giving him back half the money I took from him. But I am confident he is on a weak hand and I call. He turns over second pair to my top pair. I win again.
It was a great session and set the stage for a good weekend. This literally funded my whole AC bachelor party experience which included poker tournaments, drinks, dinner, lodging, etc. Very very good.
Next AC trip is planned for late July.
