Texas Casino Change and a Gross Slowroll

Did you know that the largest casino in terms of gaming square footage between Las Vegas and Atlantic City is in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Just 65 miles north of Dallas-Fort Worth lies Winstar World Casino, a gigantic slot palace, with a large poker room and some raked black jack tables. Winstar is also home to the River Tournament now aligned with Greg Raymer. Last year they had a $600,000 overlay in a $3,000,000 guaranteed event. I would assume this was the largest overlay in the US.

Anyway, due to a former dating relationship, I have been keeping myself out of Winstar and going to another Oklahoma casino for over 2.5 years. Seems the ex girlfriend is a big time regular and I took the high road by going somewhere else. Trying to be civil with this person but we just can not communicate on the same page. Well, finally enough is enough and I have decided to start playing again at Winstar when I am in Texas. Principally the reason is distance and action. This place has plenty of action with games 24/7 and is only a one hour drive from my home.

Last night I experienced what I though was one of the worst slow rolls, lack of etiquette that has been dealt to me in a long time. I was in a very nitty 1/2 game where the standard raise was about $7 and a big rise was anything over $15 or so. I am in the BB and looked down at two black aces. Action is folded to the button who makes it $7, SB calls and I pop it to $30, both players call fairly quickly. Flop is QJ9 two hearts which is not the best flop for aces with all the draws out there. SB bets $30 and I decide to push for my remaining $190 or so. Button thinks for a bit and pushes his $225 stack in. SB tank for a bit and folds. So here were are, two of us all in no more action, roughly $450 in the pot.

As soon as he calls I flip my cards and say what you got, guy does not reply, nor does he flip his cards. I start asking him to flip his cards he doesn't, Turn is a J, making my hand Aces and Jacks, tell him again to flip his cards, he wont. River is a queen and he explodes, fist pumps, yells etc, still not flipping his cards. At this point I have had enough and start yelling at the guy that he has slow rolled me, he just stares. Finally, dealer says sir show your cards, he flips AQ for the runner runner queens over jacks boat.

I understand that policies from casino to casino differ on when to flip cards in an all in situation in a cash game. I always flip immediately because obviously I want to know where I stand and I think its the courteous thing to do. Why the gamenship and lack of courtesy, the hand is over at this point. I just don't get it.

Oh well that's poker, and thankfully the casino had a $100 aces cracked promotion that I didn't even know about.

Made A Venetian DSE Final Table

Thought I might be able to blog daily above my tourneys through my first weeks WSOP/Related Vegas Tourneys schedule. Learned really quickly that 12 hours of poker a day takes it out of you and the ability to blog falls down the food chain.

Long story short I final tabled the Venetian DSE Event #2, a $340 Buy In event. Its my largest recorded live cash to date, although I have larger cashes in daily's/freerolls that are not reported by the various poker ranking sites.

I was damn lucky to be alive at the money level of 45 players. I had been all in and well behind twice during the day but caught cards for the suck out. The worst of the two was all in pre flop with jacks against aces, called for the river jack and caught it. The player next to me told me that he thought the guy with the aces was puking in the bathroom afterwards. It has happened to me about time it happens in my favor. The other was a push of A6 hearts against 6's right before dinner break, ace on the flop.

The third hand after the money broke I got very lucky. Blinds were $2000/$4000 and I had about 70,000 in my stack, I raised in MP to $10,000 with A7 diamonds and was called by two players behind. Flop came AJ7 two hearts, I jammed my stack in, player behind pushed for his stack $150,000 or so and guy on the button called. Player behind turned over 7's for trips, button turn over KQ hearts for the nut flush draw. Turn was a low heart giving the button his flush. River was a beautiful Ace of Spades giving me top boat aces over sevens, MP second boat sevens over aces and button a destroyed nut flush. It was such a cooler for the other two and I scooped the main pot of $210,000. Later I busted the broken flush player who pushed Q4 off for $60,000 and I called with 9's. Cruised into Day 2 sixth in chips with $238,000.

30 players returned and nothing much happened for me other than I busted a short stack for $50,000 called his push with AJ hearts which held. It only took about 90 minutes to get to the final table and I entered with an average stack. Just never could get much going, losing a two pair pot to a better two pair for $125,000. Also caught aces and probably over raised in early position, with no callers.

Blinds were $10000/$20000/$3000 and I had about $240,000 left going into my bust out hand. I was in the big blind and it was folded to the small who looked like he was going to fold but just limped. I looked down a 7's and jammed it in. Small Blind snapped called me with J10 off and caught a jack on the flop.

I was out the door in 7th for a $4200 payday, all in all I was lucky to be that far, but disappointed I didn't go further.