Despite having the best sleep since starting the dealing rotation, I arrived at the poker hall already worn out from the previous four days of dealing. Since I do not do this for a living, I have not conditioned myself to be able to relax and still concentrate. This means that I am probably exerting more energy than the seasoned dealers.
And, all of my self-praise from Day 4 went right out the window on Day 5.
Why? Because I was LOUSY last night! My concentration simply wasn't up to par. I am sure it's because I am tired but I made several mistakes. I exposed a card a couple of times, had three misdeals where I accidentally dealt past someone at the end of the table, and was generally slow with my card pitching all night.
My tokes reflected this decreasing accuracy too. By 3:00 am, I'd made $50 less than the previous night, despite working two additional cash tables. So, when I came off a break table at 3:30 am (meaning that when done dealing the table I could take a break), I went to the DC (dealer coordinator) certain that he'd send my sorry butt off to bed.
"No, Wade, I need you to stay."
Uh-oh.
Turns out, I am not the only dealer who is feeling quite run-down. In casinos, they have what is called an "EO List" (early-off) and people who just don't feel like staying late will sign up on this list so that the DC can plan how many dealers to keep late.
But being so green, I'd never heard of it. So when I went up at my normal end of shift, more dealers than normal were already gone. And the degenerate gamblers were out in force, wanting to keep several cash tables open.
So, I ended up not being able to clock-out until.....8:00 am this morning. That's right, I dealt for thirteen and a half hours!
The good news, though, is that I actually caught my second-wind and started dealing better. Plus, the gamblers who stayed all night were high rollers and the tips were much better. So in the end, I made the equivalent of two days worth of tips.
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More of the pros are in town now. There were several faces at the tables that I recognized, but couldn't quite attach with a name. These fellows are not the Phil Iveys, Doyle Brunsons, or Daniel Negreanus of the world. But they are men who have appeared at various final tables at the WSOP.
It is hard to relate to the amount of money they wager. A guy named Mike sat down right next to me while I was in the box (dealing) and pulled out three stacks of $100 bills wrapped in $10,000 bank wrappers. These players bet with chips only at the beginning of a hand and then as the pot grows they only bet with hundred dollar bills. I have grown adept at quickly counting out thousands of dollars while holding a deck of cards in my hand.
These men own businesses, night clubs, golf courses. Some of them are former pro athletes looking to gamble their fortunes. And some of them are regular guys who have scored a big win in one of the big tournaments and now have a free ride to gamble. One jovial fellow in a tee-shirt and baseball cap told me that he'd won $530,000 by winning a tournament in Tunica, MS and that he'd quit his job and become a professional gambler.
Anyway, I am hoping to have better concentration when I deal tonight.
Side Pots:
- Best tournament hand of the night: I had three players go all-in and when they flipped over their cards, one had pocket rockets (aces), one had pocket cowboys (kings), and one had big slick (ace-king). Normally, the guy with the aces would dominate this hand but the person with big slick caught a queen on the flop, a jack on the turn, and spiked a ten on the river to win the hand with a miracle straight.
- Worst loss of the night: In one of the late cash games, a young guy who was a former pro wrestler lost $11,000 on a single hand of poker when another gentleman played pocket sevens and got a flop of seven-five-five to give him a full house. When the cards were turned over, the wrestler looked physically ill. He murmured something and left the table, penniless. One of the other players whispered that the wrestler's total losses for the night were nearly $20,000. I truly hope he's ok.
- War Eagle Table: I sat at a table where three of the players were Auburn grads. I mentioned that I was one too, and then, ironically, each of them won a big pot on the next three turns. One of the other players said we were obviously cheating.
- Best indicator that I need more sleep: Three guys were left in a one-table tournament and decided to quit playing and split up their winnings to match their chip percentages. So they turned to me and said, "ok, we have to split up $1100 three ways, and I have 7700 in chips, he has 6400, and he has 5500. How does that divide out?" I blinked twice and said, "ya got me." They ended up splitting it $425, $375, $300 but I have no idea if that's right. (looking at it now, I can see that it's probably close enough...oh well...shame on them for asking me to do any higher math when I haven't slept).
