I spent another enjoyable day at poker dealing school, although it had it's exasperating moments. First of all, after just two days, I seem to be miles ahead of the three other students I'm grouped with, so my instructor is having me move on to join the next group tomorrow morning. For awhile this afternoon it was just like being back in some of my college classes--I felt like I was wasting my time waiting for the remedials to catch up so that I could actually learn something. Yeah, while watching them I'll pick up a nugget or two of good information, but those illuminating moments can sometimes be few and far between. Part of the problem is that the people I was grouped with don't have any kind of poker background at all. Playing a simulated game with them is like playing Monopoly with a bunch of three year olds--I'm trying to become a real estate tycoon and they're all fighting over who gets to be the race car.
Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but trust me, I've had some frustrating moments. Of course the instructors are all diplomatic and say that everyone needs to learn and such, which is cool, but I paid my $800 tuition and I don't feel like sitting there wasting my time while the same people have to be told to wait their turn to bet, and even how to bet, over and over again. Time is money, people! I want to get in, get out, and get paid. I don't want to sit there and hear stories about everyone elses casino experiences all day long. Ok, enough venting... But at times like this I can't help but remember my friend Hoya's Greatest Quote Ever Uttered: It's not that I'm conceited, I really am better than those people...
I just learn faster, that's all, and ever since elementary school I've gotten bored easily once I've grasped something and I need to move on to the next challenge, usually before most everyone else. Also, everyone seems to agree that we spend waaaaaaay too much time on 7-Card Stud. It's one of the instructors favorite games, so a good portion of the day is spent on it. But everyone seems to agree that once we get out, we'll never deal it except on very rare occasions. I've been going to poker rooms in Vegas for years, and I never see it offered. And if it is, there's just one table. There's a lot more Omaha and now the trend seems to be with all of the variations of lowball games, outside of the 99.9% of the tables that are Texas Holdem.
On a more positive note, Brad, the reader who I mentioned yesterday, just got an offer to start at the new poker room at Treasure Island which opens in a couple of weeks. That should be a great job, and I'm hoping maybe he could 'juice me in' over there too. I think I'll be able to find a pretty good job at a major poker room pretty easily. The instructors I have are well-connected and the recent products from the school are all getting good jobs--hell, ten guys who just finished school got offers from Treasure Island. Last spring when I was there, they were sending people to audition at the Poker Palace or Jokers Wild. So I think my timing, if not optimal, is pretty darn good.
So tonight I'm going to spend the evening reading my dealers handbook from cover to cover and preparing myself for the challenges of tomorrow. And I've decided that no matter how tired I am after working all night, I'm gonna stick with it and make it to class every day for the next month at least--hopefully it won't take a full two months to be ready to audition for a good job.
Mikey
PS. I took a few pictures at school today, and I'll post them, but I want to get a few more taken before I do.
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