Trip Report: Pokah in Switzerland

[nichtsnutz]

A couple of weeks ago I had some family business near the Swiss border and since we didn't have anything to do in the evening me and my girlfriend decided to check out the Grand Casino Baden in Switzerland.

When we get there the casino's parking garage is packed so we have to go to another one and walk a couple of minutes to the place. The casion is devided (devided as in there are different entrances and you can't just walk from one area to the other) into a "Grand Jeu" area which is basically Roulette, Blackjack, Poker and those kinds of games and a slot machine area which we obviously didn't even check out because slot machines are a casino's cancer. I very much like the devision into two sections because stupid slot machines annoy me and I hate all the degenerates who play them.

To get into the Grand Jeu you have to pay a cover of 10 CHF (~ $8) and they have a dresscode. On the way there we talked about them maybe frowning at me not wearing a sportscoat but after we get in we see a lot of people that are dressed a lot worse then us. In general though people are dressed a lot more elegant then what you're used to in Vegas. A lot of people in suits or little black dresses. The casino itself looks very nice. It doesn't have a theme but except for the ugly cliche casino-type carpet it is very stylish and looks pretty new. There are a lot of people but it's not so crowed that you'd feel it's too much.

After checking out the main area and collecting our welcome drink (tastes allright, has lots of alcohol in it) we had over to the poker room which is an actual seperated room. They have 6 huge (bigger then Vegas!) 10-seat tables. Two of them actually have Shufflemasters in them. We had called in advance to make sure I'd get to play on one of the beginners tables they have going on weekends. I grind $.25/$.50 limit online so even the beginner 5CHF/10CHF (~ $4/$8) is pretty big for me. 5CHF is also the smallest chip they have so both big and small blind are 5CHF. The game starts 15 minutes late but at least it's a full table from the start.

The players:
On my immidiate right sits a 22-ish Swiss guy. He's nice and it takes me a while to notice how bad he really is. We'll call him Jennifer for reasons you will later understand.
On his right sits probably the best player at the table. He's from Germany, also in the low twenties, tall and looks like he does live role-playing games. He has a beard and I expect him to own an axe. He sometimes straddles and tries to look very confident when betting and raising.
Next is his friend. Small blond guy. He clearly knows stuff about poker (he and his buddy talk about hands in between hands) but seems like a no-limit player with no clue about limit.
On his right some other guy that I hardly remeber except that he lost.
Exactly opposite to me sits my favorite player at the table. At first I thought he must be somewhat good as he did all those fake tells. After a couple of orbits I realize they aren't fake tells but just tells. "Weak means string" is his best. With two A on the flop he would agonize about the call almost push his hand to the dealer and then RAISE and later show down the Ace. We'll call him the weak-means-strong-guy (WMSG)
The two guys to his right are the tightest at the table (except for my card-dead ass) but more rocks then TAGs.
Two to my left sits some kind of swiss business man. He ahs played poker before but isn't good. Relatively tight as in he loses the money slowly. He's probably the nicest guy at the table.
Between him and me sits a 20-something old blonde Swiss girl. Not bad looking. We'll call her Brandi. She has to rebuy once and her sklanskyesque boyfriends who's playing at the other table comes back to her twice to get more money. Everytime he asks for more money he tells her about those huge beats he was taking. I think about moving to the other table. She also seems to be used to losing.

During the night I get hardly any hands I want to play so most of the noteworthy hands don't even involve me. Most of them are also noteworthy because they were played so badly. e.g. this one:

First orbit, I pick up 77 on the button after one early limper. I raise and BB and limper call. Flop comes 1 overcard rainbow. Limper bets and I feel he's stealing so I raise. BB folds limper calls. I decide to show this hand down and try to pay as little as possible. Luckyly he checks the turn to me and I check through. The river is a 7 and I smile inside. He bets into me, I raise him and he calls. I show him the luckbox-trips and to my amazement he shows me KK. During the first two orbits KK gets dealt 4 times and doesn't get raised once preflop.

It gets raised preflop and like 4 people see the flop. The blond German bets hard on the flop and turn. Other people seem to be drawing. On the river the 4-flush hits. The business man bets, WMSG raises and business man calls out of turn. Blonde German still calls the raise uncomfortably, shows down AA and obv loses to a flush and a higher flush.

WMSG limps UTG it gets raised on his left and two more people coldcall. Some betting and calling takes place and by the river the board reads QKxJT. WMSG checks the PF-raiser bets one mroe calls and WMSG raises. WMSG is very happy when both call and he can turn over his Q9. Obv both opponents have an A.

Jennifer and the axe-owner make it to the river HU on a JxKxQ rainbow board. Jennifer bets, axe-owner raises. Jennifer goes "Oh damn, it's a split" and calls the raise. Axe-owner shows two-pair. Jennifer shows AT. Half the table looks like Ivey.

I leave after about 5 and a half hours because my girlfriend is falling asleep down about 80CHF. Was a lot of fun and Swiss people talk funny :-)

[mediumpimpin]

I read until you said anyone who plays slots is an idiot and was pissed.You redeemed yourself though. Nice report

[lemming]

Hehe, nice report [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Funny to read for me especially, as I'm from Switzerland and have been to the Casino several times [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Thumbs up for the somehow funny story, because there are really many donks playing there, I can sign that!

[mmorpg]

good read thanks

[bigscore]

right on