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#1
03-17-2006, 12:07 AM
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Rules at Foxwoods
My trip on Tuesday was fantastic. +61 BB at $4/$8 over about 8.5 hours of playing time. Two situations stand out in my mind, not because of the hands themselves, but because of their psychological effects on the table overall.
1. I complete my SB with 86s. I can't remember how many limpers there were, but it doesn't matter. Flop is 955 two spades. I bet, terrible player (but very nice and pleasant despite being a huge loser) on my right (button) calls. Turn is the deuce of spades, so I have the flush. I bet, he calls. River is an offsuit 6. I bet, and he kind of pushes in a pile of four chips and another pile of four chips. I hem and haw because he's very passive and I think I've snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Then I call and he shows 87o for the rivered gutter. I flip my cards and it takes a few seconds to dawn on him that he lost, then he smiles and gives us the usual "Man, I REALLY hate this game!" Now I had no problem with this guy's raise at the time, because it seemed obvious to me what he was doing. I do not believe he was angle shooting or knew that he was string betting, as it really was not as clear-cut as it may seem from reading this. It only occurred to me that he had technically made a string bet in retrospect. However, on the next hand, someone said it was a string bet. We looked at the dealer, and she nodded and said "Mmm-hmm." Everything worked out great for me, but that's not the issue. The issue is more like, "Lady, if you knew that was a string bet, why the hell did you let it stand and not do anything about it?" Even if it seemed like he intended to raise, his action should stand as a call. What if he was an angry player and told her she should have only let him call? What if I lost the hand and she then said that? This is a recipe for making people very, very pissed off. Then again, enforcing the rules might piss people off as in the next scenario: 2. Guy two seats to my left has angle shot a couple of times during the night. Nothing drastic, but angle-shooting nonetheless. In one hand he makes a very exaggerated movement on the flop with a bet in his hand after raising PF, such that his fist extends past his cards and above the line denoting the middle of the table. As he does this he says "Check." The dealer tells him that he cannot do that in the future, and that if he moves his chips past his cards again the other player can call and he will owe those chips to the pot. The player looks at him in shock and says "We've done this before" (only he had done anything like that before) and gives him the requisite "You know what I meant" type of bad attitude. The dealer remains polite but firm. It seemed to me he was trying to tell the guy that he might get into trouble by doing what he did, but the player would not be happy unless he could angle shoot to his heart's content, and any effort to stop him was unfair. This show dragged on for the rest of the hand and beyond, and completely screwed up the table dynamic I had been cultivating for many hours. I had these guys laughing it up, charming everyone such that my image was both dangerous enough for people to not take shots at me (twice people limped and folded to my PFR), but soft enough for them not to dislike me or think I was a bully. All that started to change after this hand, culminating in a hand where the player to my immediate left threw his aces in frustration after being 5-outed by 72s on the river. The dealer (same one) told him not to throw his cards like that, as they had hit the hand of another player, and he also told him to watch his language after he began muttering expletives. That was it. The table had a palpable edge to it after that. People were not smiling much, and certainly weren't laughing or talking. I applaud the dealer and wish I had taken down his name, because if the others kept bad behavior in check as well, it would be much easier to curtail in the first place. But the fact is, most dealers would not have done anything about the angle shooting or the throwing of cards and cursing. So here I am wanting rules enforced, but also wanting to keep people happy and loosey-goosey. It's much more enjoyable to play at a happy table, but it's aggravating to see poeople break rules. I guess I don't have a specific question for you all or just commentary to post, but if you've gotten this far, I'd love to hear thoughts about this. 
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#2
03-17-2006, 12:16 AM
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Re: Rules at Foxwoods
Foxwoods + rules = changing on a daily basis depending on who the dealer is and who the floorperson is at the time. Too bad there is no competition in Connecticut to force Foxwoods to do something right.
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#4
03-17-2006, 01:47 AM
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Re: Rules at Foxwoods
[ QUOTE ]
We aren't allowed to call string bets unless a player notes it. :shrug: Don't blame the dealer, blame Cathy(Kathy?) [/ QUOTE ] This is the more common rule, but it is close to a 50/50 split on dealer enforced vs enforced on request.
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#6
03-17-2006, 08:54 AM
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Re: Rules at Foxwoods
** Hijack Alert **
Any news regarding if the ban on headphones will be lifted any time soon? I heard some rumors the last time I was there - of course they were in nearly the same breath as Mohegan Sun Poker Room Rumors...
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#7
03-17-2006, 10:40 AM
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Re: Rules at Foxwoods
[ QUOTE ]
We aren't allowed to call string bets unless a player notes it. :shrug: Don't blame the dealer, blame Cathy(Kathy?) [/ QUOTE ] I don't know who Cathy is, but that sucks donkey balls. The player involved in the hand may have his attention elsewhere, while the dealer is the one keeping the table in line.
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#9
03-17-2006, 11:55 AM
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Re: Rules at Foxwoods
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] We aren't allowed to call string bets unless a player notes it. :shrug: Don't blame the dealer, blame Cathy(Kathy?) [/ QUOTE ] I don't know who Cathy is, but that sucks donkey balls. The player involved in the hand may have his attention elsewhere, while the dealer is the one keeping the table in line. [/ QUOTE ] I think this is a good rule. It shifts the option to the "victim" - if you want the raise, you can keep it, if you don't, you can make it a call. Not only that, but your argument about "what if the victim wasn't paying attention" is the biggest load of crap ever. For one, pay attention when you're in the hand. If you're not paying attention, you deserve to get stuff pulled on you. Second, if you're not paying attention, then it doesn't matter if it was a string bet or a legitimate bet because the string would have no effect on you. Do you know why a string bet is against the rules? If you're not paying attention, then that negates any effect a string bet may have to begin with.
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#10
03-17-2006, 12:29 PM
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Re: Rules at Foxwoods
[ QUOTE ]
We aren't allowed to call string bets unless a player notes it. :shrug: Don't blame the dealer, blame Cathy(Kathy?) [/ QUOTE ] NOW you blame Kathy that she's gone, huh? Oh, well, now the folks on the other side of the country have to deal with her at the Venetian apparently.
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