CA trip report

[Mr Rick]

I went to LA first for a few days and then up to Woodside (near Stanford) for about 6 days. I played 6 sessions of poker and learned some Asian. I am not sure what language but the word is "AaaaaiiiYaaaaaa". If the last "aaaaaa" is said lower than than the first, it means "crap, terrible card". If the last "aaaaaa" is higher and/or louder than the first it means "I win!!!! Excellent card".

When I'm in LA I go to Commerce and I know I should try the Bike but I just can't drag myself away. I spent 3 days at Commerce and was surprised that I didn't win much at the $9/$18. The most fun hands I played there were against a French "maniac" who basically played any two cards very aggressively, and is running over the table. In the first hand I limped in LP with K2s and 3 others in the pot. Flop was 652r and maniac bet. I raised chasing out the others. Turn was a 3 and he bet. I thought a bit and called deciding that it was time to make a stand against this guy. The river was a Q and I called his bet again. He showed K7o and MHIG. He gives me this dirty look and asks how I can call. I come very close to telling him that if he is playing any two cards how can I not call... But then I just say, "I'm not very good...". A couple of hands later I am playing K3s LP, again against the French maniac, and the flop is KTx. He bets I raise and its just us two again. Turn is a Q. He check/raises, I call. River is a blank. He bets, I raise, he calls. He turns over K2o and I am extremely relieved even though its just a chop. We are now friends. He slows down a bit because he is getting called down... A few minutes later, I get KK and raise, 5 others in including mon ami lu Maniac in the BB. I know I am not the favorite but after an aceless flop which I bet, turn which I bet and river with no pairs on board, no possible flushes and a highly unlikely gutshot straight - I am feeling somewhat confident. Except that the Frenchmen leads out the river. It is just him and me and I know I am beat. However, I call because its a big pot and I have to see it. He shows 83 for two pair (the 8 came on the river).

Now it gets a little interesting. I muck my KK. And the dealer turns it over. The guy in the 1 seat asked to see it. I'm in Seat 9 and I am really pissed (mostly because of the 8). I ask Seat 1 if he thinks I am cheating. "No" he says, "I just wanted to see your cards". I tell him that the IWTSTH rule isn't there to satisfy his curiosity. My French friend tells me that people do it all the time - and seat 1 was in the hand. I play at Foxwoods a bit and haven't seen anyone invoke the rule... Anyway, the next two hands I am in, I check raise Seat 1 relentlessly. I lose the first to a better kicker and muck (he doesn't ask to see my hand). And I win the second hand getting in a check/raise on the flop and the river with my two pair. Seat 1 gets up to leave soon after.

When I went north I played first at Bay 101 (high ceilings, nice chips) and got roasted in the $8/$16 game. The most interesting thing there was a small Asian man who said something to an attractive dealer, in Vietnamese. The dealer then said fairly loudly in English "If you talk to me again I will get up and smack you". OK then. Some time later he walks by the table and says something to an older woman player, again in Vietnamese. She gets furious and tells him to get out of there, which he does. Then she gets up, goes to his table, and screams at him for a few minutes, comes back, sits down, and plays as if nothing has happened. Ok then. While she was gone, a white man across the table told me how bad a player the Asian woman is. Soon after, all three of us are in a hand. I have 87s and bet the J72 flop. The white man calls as does the Asian woman. The turn is an 9 putting two clubs on board. I check, the white man bets, she calls, I fold. River is a non-club T, he bets, she raises, he loses 22 to Q8 (both clubs). I didn't laugh out loud but just barely. White guy starts complaining about her playing when Asian man to his left tells him she would have folded if he raised the flop. He claims she wouldn't because she never folds and storms off. I ask her, and she says of course she folds the flop to two bets...

I then went to Garden City, where I especially liked the atmosphere (OK it doesn't hurt that a stunning off duty Asian dealer is sitting next to me). They ate me alive this time at the $8/$16 half kill game. I kept losing huge kill pots with great hands. The kill pot hand I remember most, I have QQ raised first in, two callers. Flop is Jxx. Turn and river are blanks and I bet and am called on all streets. Cold caller to my immediate left (not a blind) turns over 63o for the win with two pair made on the river. Very next hand he mucks pre-flop and says, in complete seriousness, "I can't play this garbage."

My last stop is Artichoke Joe's where I play in the $15/$30. I am waiting to play about 45 minutes and am about to leave when they start a must move game. I crush this game and am relieved to leave CA with a slight profit. Guys seem very friendly. One strange note though. As I sit down in the main game, friendly white guy (Italian?) next to me rubs his hands and says I can't wait to crush you guys. I turn to him and said "I hope you don't mean me in particular..." and he replies quietly "no you are the right color". Now there was one black man and about five Asians at that table and I said "Uh Oh..." and left it at that. He was a very nice guy otherwise but it was a sour note. It turns out he got busted pretty badly, and I had some significant part in it, but oddly no particular satisfaction.

I like Artichoke Joe's and it takes me about 15 minutes to realize we are playing without an automated card shuffler... Not a big deal. The dealers are very efficient. In fact the dealers in CA almost to a person were terrific. When problems arose, they handled them professionally and quickly.

Cliff notes: Loved playing in CA. Quite a bit looser than Foxwoods and so the variance is a bit amped. AaaaaaiiiYaaaaa.