Is This Considered To Be Gambling?
My usual answer to the question above is...."Not the way I play it."
On Sunday after church I went to the Buffet and then the Poker Room to indulge in a little of devils work. I have been away from playing cards for several years, because I got reckless and was taking too many chances that were indicative of not playing well. I had gotten to the point of being able to move up in limit, but I couldn't get comfortable with the additional monies put at risk so I stayed at the lower limit and got bored. Also at some point in a days play there comes the realization that one has done about as well as one is going to do for that day. Over and over again players have noted that at some point in a game if they don't pick up and go they tend to start sliding. For the longest time I thought this was unique to myself, but after watching some of the Tournament players I noted the same thing happening to them. What changed the mojo may just be an unanswered comment or jibe by another player. Now the door is open for me again.
When I started playing the devils game I exclusively played 7 Card Stud. To be good at that game one has to count cards, suits. and what every player has got and what they apparently need to make their hand. One night years ago I was playing in a Stud game where 4 Flushes were made in the same hand. In that hand I was the runner up and was beaten on the second card. Also the last time I played the Bellagio Phil Ivy was playing in a $4000/$8000 Stud game. In that game it would not be uncommon for pots to run to $100,000 or more Just think $8000 minimum bet for the turn of a single card. and be up or down $500,000 in a single session. Over the past few years Stud games have all but disappeared in favor of the Texas Holdem. Holdem is a game of nuance and betting position.
So yesterday I hit the tables in the devils playground, playing in the lowest limit structured betting game to get the table rust off. The structured betting games have become No Foldem Holdem no matter the limit, as there can be many players all going to the River with nothing, hoping to hit their hand. If you have 4 or 5 players in every hand there is a good likelihood of one of them hitting. So one has to be lucky and not just good. However when in the devils play ground and playing against the Locals it is a tighter game, but I did notice that out of the 8 players at yesterdays table 7 of them were always betting to see the flop no matter what they had. One also noticed that the only one who was not down for the day was the one who did not bet on every hand. That particular player was up for the day and left as such after hitting the days target win amount.
While playing I quickly saw the value of not playing anything but strong hands to begin with or even a non big paired strong hand beyond the Flop of the cards if there was no improvement However I did make one mistake in my play and that was where I had a beginning hand of KQ which is a good hand before the Flop, The Flop comes AK8. I check the next guy bets, I call...mistake because the guy who bet most likely has a pair of A's to my K's. Next card comes junk no help to anyone, I check the guy next to me checks..hmm maybe he doesn't have a pair of A's. Next card also junk no help. I bet he calls he has the pair of A's. Mistake in betting and not just checking..So I went home.
What got me interested again is that I met a Bridge playing friend of a woman friend of mine. She has been in the devils play ground for 12 years and plays not only Bridge but Video Poker on a semi professional basis. She told me she can make 25K to 30K a year playing Video Poker. The key is in picking machines with the best odds, being disciplined checking the Points for Comps that the various casinos are offering as promotions and running the dinero through the machines to get those points. There are quite a few people in LV that don't have to buy groceries and get all the free rooms and entertainment that they want. One guy I know of has so many Points that he gets 5 dinners every time he goes to the Casino restaurant, takes 4 home and even gives one to the dog. That is besides the cash he takes home. Another is a professional Bridge player, that gets paid to attend Tournaments and is featured in Bridge magazines as being among the worlds bestest.
I also asked the Gal if she knew any professional Poker players and she said a couple. I asked what kind of dinero they made and she replied 150K to 200K a year. I asked where they played and she said the Bellagio and the Wynn. She also said they have big bankrolls to tide them through the down times...
I have met quite a few old geezers who play on the Strip everyday, sitting at the tables like vultures on a wire waiting for the fresh meat to show up. Never playing anything but the strongest of hands.. one of them even got a B Day cake from the Mirage for his 88Th, as he played there everyday for 7 years straight. Even he wasn't the oldest as there was a 90 year old who just happened to miss that day. On my last excursion to the Wynn I played for 14 hours and was getting nothing to play and as such was throwing everything away. While the gal next to me from Chicago didn't know 3 of a kind beat 2 pair. She got up $300 real fast, and a Local started capping the bet oh her every time (he lost his azz with her). Finally she went down $300 and walked. I was down about $80 into the last hour, got tired and started pushing a bit, which cost me an extra $40. When I discovered even that didn't work I admitted that it wasn't my day and walked.. That day cost me $120, which when considering it costs about $30 an hour in Blinds to play ain't bad.
The hot thing to play now are the No Limit games. With a 100 to 200 buy in or 200 400 buy in. It is common to see guys with 3000 or 4000 sitting in front of them and being willing to risk it all on a single turn of the cards. Most of the time it is being willing to bet $500 or so on a single turn, and that is where I get uncomfortable. Although I have a friend in Cali that does real well with the 100 to 200 buy in and if he got comfortable could go to the 200 to 400 with no problem. He told me that now even with 4 cards to a Flush he won't make a big call on a draw, as most of the time it doesn't work out. That is how he avoids the big swings in winning and losing. That is how much disciple and being a tight player it takes to be to be a consistent winner. Finally the thing that makes the No Limit games a better buy is that the Blinds of 20 to 30 an hour to play doesn't bury you. One good pot a night pays for your play, otherwise it is tough to win enough to pay that freight bill. Time is your enemy in the structured betting games, and it takes time and patience to be a winner.
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