In two weeks, I'll be playing the World Series of Poker Employee Event. Being an employee of Caesars Entertainment, I'm not allowed to play any bracelet events except the employee event, which is absolutely ludicrous for reasons I may explain in a future blog.
Haven't played the employee event in 5 years mainly for 2 reasons 1) The structure is horrific, when I first played we only got 1000 in tournament chips. They upped the ante to 3000 chips for this year's event, which still horrific 2) I've had terrible luck lasting a grand total of 5 hours in 2 separate past employee tournaments.
So why am I playing it this year and forking over $500 when I know the structure is terrible, and I know I'll be a huge underdog to cash despite being a fairly decent tournament player?? Because I want too...sounds simplistic but I really want to play it this year. The shot at the coveted World Series of bracelet at the end of the tournament -- I want to win and wear it to work the next day, and have customers point to it, asking "What's that?" What a great conversation piece it would be??
Also, I want to feel the buzz surrounding the world series. Through the pop and circumstances, the World Series of Poker is the mecca of the poker universe. Everyone who loves the game of poker, everyone who plays poker, everyone who dreams of winning a bracelet, wants to prove themselves on the grandest stage of them all -- at the highest level. Nothing compares to the buzz, hype, the ambiance surrounding that month and a half of just poker actions pulsing throughout the rooms. It's a feeling like no other -- an orgasm for action junkies if you will.
So do I think I have a chance of winning the 2014 World Series of Poker Employee event?? Yes I do. Will it be difficult?? Of course it will. But I'm going to out there and swing for the fences and hope the cards fall my way. Perhaps they will, and I'll be sitting there in the end behind a mounting of chips holding up a bracelet with a huge grin in my face.
Dreams turned to reality, will it for me?? We'll find out when I put my skills to the test starting May 27.
...Okay so The Poker Dealers Association of the World doesn't exist (But what a grand ideal, huh), but today, I wanted to give all poker plays some advice centered around this:
Remember this commercial:
"Image is everything" - Andre Agassi
In every poker book I've read says your image at the poker table is very important -- you have to be aware of it at all times. Poker is a lot tougher now than it was a few years ago during the "poker boom" when every Dick and Jane watched Rounders or Chris Moneymaker glorify poker as the easiest outlet to make lots of the money. If you're a good player, your edge is very slight. If there is a way to gain an edge even the slightest can get you the extra chips you need to beat your poker game.
REMEMBER THIS: Local grinders are always look for the sucker (the mark) at the table. Why not take advantage of this by playing up to that image?
Today, I'm going to give my advice from the view of a poker dealer of ways you can get an edge simply by tweaking your image to suit your opponents, and I call it, "Being the Tourist". I know a lot of local grinders, local wannabe pros, local recreational player say, they like to play on the Las Vegas Strip, to take advantage the "Sucker tourists". Although I believe there is merit to the argument, as someone who wants to take advantage of their thinking, there are ways to exploit this.
There are FIVE things I see most common is "tourists play/mannerisms/actions that a poker player can use to take advantage of that headphone/iPod/iPad/backpacktoting/backwardhatwearing/hoodiewearing/
critiqueeveryhand guy/gal. It all centers around building an image at the poker table:
1. THE HOT GIRLFRIEND SITTING BEHIND TECHNIQUE
These guys, usually a young hotshot, stride into the poker room, and ask, "Can I play the All in game?" They usually buy in for the minimum, and are constant bluffers, not because it's the right play, but it's to impress their smokeshow girlfriend. They always wear large obnoxious sunglasses, and usuall wearing something from Ambercrombie & Fitch. They're loud, crude, and overbearing. Watch out though when they become suddenly quiet during the hand because they always have a monster.
HOW CAN I USE THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE??
First, you need to get a hot girlfriend, If you you're ugly, you may have to scrap this technique. But if you want to give this a shot, you can rent a smokeshow at any bar in Vegas and for a nominal (well, maybe not so nominal), they can act as your girlfriend. Then you have to be loud and obnoxious when you have a hand, and be quite when your bluffing.
2. STACK YOUR CHIPS IN INCREMENTS OF FIVE CHIPS HIGH. $25 PER PILE
Most first-time players seemed to always stack their chips in increments of $25. To the local grinder, they're used to see "regular" players stack their chips in 20 chips increments forming geometric shapes usually squares or triangles. SO when they do see "Joe Schmo" from middle of nowhere Nebraska stacking they're chips in increments of $25, they seemed to go after them, going out of their way to play pots with them.
HOW CAN I USE THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE?
A while back, I dealt to this guy who obviously was playing live poker for the first time, and although I thought he wasn't doing it on purpose, what he was doing was brilliant. He would always say how much he wanted to bet, then he would count out his chips, stating ever denominations as he placed each chip individually, it would go like this, "I bet $50." He'd grab his chips, then count each one, "There's 5, 10, 20, 30...is that right? No? there's 35, 45, 50..am I right now?" And for some reason, this obvious wannabe pro would call him or raise him and usually lose the pot.
3. THE "LIFT THE CARDS" TO YOUR FACE TECHNIQUE
Another mannerism reserved for those who've never played live poker. It's usually frown upon by the casino. AS a dealer, I tell these first-time players, that they can bend the cards, and after a while they figure it out. When they're first starting out, you see them life the cards to their face, as if they're playing in their college hot game.
HOW CAN I USE THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE?
I think this is a technique you have to use at a table full of aggressive players who see players who lift their cards to their face as a mark they can prey on. Unfortunately, this technique doesn't last very long as the poker dealer will always tell them they have to keep the cards on the table. Use this during the first few orbits when starting a session, and hopefully you'll catch a hand and stack an unsuspecting grinder thinking you don't have a clue of what you're doing.
4. WEAR A T-SHIRT THAT READS TEXAS HOLD EM WITH A PICTURE OF A ROYAL FLUSH ON IT.
At the apex of the "poker boom" I saw these kinds of apparel in every WalMart, Ross, Target, Sears, AND JC Pennys I've been in. To me, there were the corniest things I ever seen. Whenever I see someone walk into the poker room wearing one of these shirts, I always laugh....it just looks so ridiculous. I remember years back, I was playing at Red Rock, and I saw a poker dealer I used to work with wearing one these shirts. He was kind of a dork anyways, but I literally laughed outloud when I saw it.
HOW CAN I USE THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE?
Again, it's about looking like a mark for a the local grinder/wannabe pros who want to take advantage of the "tourists" It also helps to get a shirt that fits snug on your body. For some reason, slightly overweight people who wear this type of shirt just look like suckers.
5. WHEN SOMEONE ASK YOU WHERE YOUR FROM, ALWAYS TELL THEM YOUR FROM A STATE THAT FROWNS DOWN ON GAMBLING.
Utah, Idaho, Vermont, Wyoming, and South Dakota are just some of the states you can use. When you think of where the best poker players come from your rarely hear the state of Kentucky as a breeding ground. The grinder will think, "This sucker is from South Carolina, probably his/her first time in Las Vegas, they never get to gamble..I'm going to take every penny." and they'll do everything in their power to snag every chip from you..
HOW CAN I USE THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE?
Easily, as soon as you tell them you're from North Dakota, tell them this is your first time in Las Vegas and I only played in home games.You instantly have a bullseye stamped on your face, but you'll know better.
BONUS: ALWAYS SAY YOU'VE ONLY PLAYED IN "HOME GAME" For some reason, the words "HOME GAME" seems to be a beacon for the sharks to come after you. They think that just because you only play in home game, you have no clue what you're doing. Vegas is the big leagues, these wanna be pros are thinking, they don't have a shot against me.
I'm not saying this is full-proof and you'll wins piles of money using some or all of these techniques, but if you use them at the right moments against the right type of opponents, you can get a slight edge on your opponents.
.....and so ends the Public Service Announcements from The Poker Dealers Association of The World!
I've always tell people, the best part about being a poker dealer is no 2 days are alike -- the good and the bad...then you come across the third category -- The Ridiculous! This third category comes once in a blue moon, but when it comes across, as a poker dealer, you either laugh or shake your head...On this day, I had a little of both.
I'm dealing a standard No limit game, three players in the pot...First guy tosses out an 100 dollar bill and says, "$50, indicating he was betting $50 of the $100. I announce the bet to the table immediately. As a poker dealer, it's my obligation to quickly announce the bettor's intentions so the players involved know immediately what the bet is. The next player to act was an older gentleman from New Zealand, I know this for a fact cause I dealt to him earlier in the day and I overheard him telling someone he was from New Zealand, "Here in Vegas on Holiday". This native New Zealander looks at the bet puzzledly, then looks up at me,
"Is he allowed to do that?" He says.
"Yes, his bet is $50" I answer.
"No, I mean, can he bet with the money?" He replies.
At first, I'm thinking, maybe the guy didn't see the $100 bill beneath his chips, which is an understandable objection, it's happen before when as player doesn't see the bills and objects that's it's "in Play", So I answer, "Yes sir, $100 bills play."
I saw this New Zealander's eyes bulge from it's socket, I could tell he was getting a little upset, "I never heard of any rule like that, why didn't he get chips?"
I hesitated, thinking, "Is this guy serious?" Finally, I answered, "I'm not sure, maybe he likes to play bills."
The New Zealander wasn't having any of that, "I never heard of a fucking rule like that. I've played in casinos all over the world, and never of a fucking rule like that!!
At this point, I wanted to nip in the bud before it escalated, the gentlemen sitting next to him, who was the third player in the hand intervene, "He's allowed to play $100...he had it on the table before the hand started."
The New Zealander finally folded his hand and the hand played out with the third player winning the pot. As he was dragging the pot with the $100 bill amongst the money, he showed it to the New Zealander, and said, "I can't take it off the table now, it's in play!"
The New Zealander wasn't finished, he directed his venomous tired at me, "I think that the fucking worst rules I've ever heard. You shouldn't be able to have Goddamn money on the table like that..."
I tried to explain the $100 bill rule to him again, simultaneously, telling him he need to the cool it with the language, but the New Zealander was still angry beyond belief. Then one by one, every other player on the table was trying to explain the rule to him, but it was to no avail. He truly believed that having $100 bills on the table was against the rules and continued his tirade for another 5 minutes -- a lot of it directed at me.
At the point, I tried to ignore him and continue on with the next hand. I actually called the floor over cause he was cursing up a storm and I wanted to the Floorman to explain the rule to him. If this New Zealander wasn't going to believe in the poker dealer (Dressed in all-black), maybe he'll believe floorman (With the nice suit).
The entire table spent the rest of my down, the players continued explaining the $100 bill rule to this guy to e point that it became comical. I wasn't really upset or angry with his guy, I was more shocked his bullheadedness not to listen to the poker players....
One of the best things about being a poker dealer is the opportunity to meet all kinds of people from all over the world. As a poker dealer, you make and shatter dreams...one hand at a time (as I like to tell people) Subtlety, you impact people's lives without ever realizing...Here's is one such story.
There's a very nice, older lady that visits Las Vegas 3 or 4 times a year, and along with her daughter are two of the nicest people I've ever met. Whenever they visit, you usually play 3-6 Limit and are a delight to deal too. About 6 months ago, I dealt the nice-older lady the club royal flush (She even check-raised her daughter in the hand...lol). When she turned over the hand, she was genuinely happy for the high-hand bonus, over $1500, and the players at the table were clapping (Because they got $100 for being at the table). When she received her bonus money, you can see the happiness on her face as she stacked all those green chips ($25) in front of her...she clapped, her daughter smiled...it was their moment, and I played a small role in it...or so I believed...
The next day, her daughter came by too seek me out...We exchanged salutations...I made the obligatory comment about "I hope you paid for dinner"...She laughed, then said something I'll never forget...
"Ron, I want to thank you for dealing that royal flush to my mother...She was so happy. Words can't describe how happy my mom was. We're celebrating her birthday, and you gave the greatest birthday present..."
I was stunned, "Thanks." Is all I said...I had a warm feeling in my heart...I deal cards for a job, and you never think you would make that type of impact. Ever since that day, every time she visits, whenever I get ready to deal her table, she always makes it a point to tell the other players, "This is my favorite dealer. He dealt my royal Flush!!" I love when she says..."My royal flush"
She was in Las Vegas this week for another visit, and she continues to smile every time she sees me....it makes you realize you do impact the people you meet....even if you don't realize it.
