I'm telling you, the poker room is out to get me. Actually, it's out to keep me from ever making normal and entertaining updates because they just won't quit calling me! If you would've asked me yesterday (and actually, some did) if I were going to work last night, I would've sworn that I was going to have the night off. And I felt like I needed it, too.
It's been a very long week--going back to before that big-assed tourney up at Texas Station last weekend. In fact, I just checked my pocket-calendar book where I keep track of all my work records, and I've worked eleven out of the past twelve days. And I'm actually scheduled for the next three nights, too, which will make it eight days in a row of work, *if* I don't get called in this weekend. But that ain't gonna happen--the bad beat jackpot is hovering around $200,000 and it's Super Bowl weekend, so we'll be all kinds of busy for the foreseable future.
But y'all know me--I'd rather be busy than slow, because soon enough it'll be dead again and I'll be whining about not working enough.
Last night, however, was kind of a joke. It would've been nice to have the night off, but I got called at 9:30, and they told me to come in at 11. When I got to work, I saw that there were three games going, and before I sat down in the no-limit game, one of the 4-8 games broke. And then, when I got into the no-limit game, three players cashed out within the first couple of minutes. That basically turned it into the tightest no-limit game ever, where a couple of players would just limp in and check down to the river, so I was pushing $8 pots the whole down. At one point, I even asked if they'd prefer me to deal the cards face-up since nobody wanted to actually, you know, play poker.
Ugh. It sucked.
But then, I got over to the 4-8 game, and it had been going south also. By the time I got there, it was down to seven players, and one of them was the floorman sitting in trying to hold it together. The no-limit game eventually died, and one of the players from there came over and joined us at the 4-8 table. Immediately, he started pushing the action, won his first three hands, and broke the game--out of the seven players, three of them had short stacks and went broke when he got there. So he killed that game, too.
Since I was the Last of the Mohicans as far as dealers went, everyone else got to go home and I had to stick around to help the floorman clean up the room and count the bank, so I ended up doing busywork for another half hour after everyone left. Not exactly a lot of fun, and even though I picked up a little bit of money, I think I would've rather just stayed home and got some rest.
Here's the thing--everyone thinks that working in the poker room is a 'cake' job, and for the most part, it is. The stress level is low, the money is pretty good, and we don't have all of the formal procedures like working in the pit does. But I work much harder in the poker room than I ever did out in the pit (aside from dealing dice). When I was dealing Pai Gow every night for two years, it was like going on vacation. I was sitting on my ass flirting with cocktail waitresses and watching ESPN all night every night and oh by the way dealing the occasional hand. But there was so much dead time that it was truly a cakewalk. On the other hand, there was a high bullshiat factor I had to put up with.
But I work my ass off in the poker room. I can't turn my brain off and go on auto-pilot like I could when dealing blackjack or Pai Gow. I always have to pay attention, run the game, track the pot, keep the action going, etc. etc. and by the end of the night, I'm spent. You're engaged the entire time you're in the box. After a full shift, I don't want to do anything but have some sort of brain candy and go to sleep. Adding to the degree of difficulty are the folks wandering around outside the poker room out in the casino who see me sitting at the table and want to stop and chat. Talk about some difficult multi-tasking. I guess it's not so hard in a 4-8 game, but in a no-limit game I have to pay more attention. Oh well, I think I just don't have enough experience to deal no-limit holdem on auto-pilot just yet.
Anyhow, once I got out of work, it was freezin' assed cold here, and I was kinda hungry. Having had breakfast over at Sierra Gold the past couple of days, I noticed on their menu that they served both clam chowder and chili in a bread bowl, so I was all over that idea. I drove over there salivating at the idea of a hot hearty meal, but when I got there, I was denied.
There were no other cars in the parking lot except for the two employees' vehicles parked in back. And most of the bars out here in Henderson keep the doors locked late at night and you have to buzz in. So I hit the buzzer a few times and nobody answered. That was odd--the place never closes. I hit it a couple more times, but then gave up when nobody would answer, figuring the bartender and the cook were sitting in the walk-in getting high or something (hey, I used to work in restaurants back in the day...).
So I just stopped at the convenience store and picked up a bag of Sun Chips and a Diet Coke with lime, came home, and watched last night's episode of 24. Overall, it was kind of a dull night for me.
As soon as I get this entry posted, I'm gonna shower, shave, and make myself pretty(er), then head on over to the Omelet House for some breakfast. I haven't seen my gal Marcie in a week, and that's far too long. I'll run a few errands after that, but then the balance of my day is gonna be spent doing housework and such.
I'm livin' the dream I tell ya. Livin'. The. Dream.
Mikey
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