"He Wants to Sleep With You"

Well, it’s been over three months since I’ve returned from my most recent trip to Vegas.  Can’t believe it’s been that long.  And I can’t believe that it’s been so long since I’ve been to Vegas.  Anyway, this is the story of the cash game session I played on my very last night in Vegas in early July.

The venue was the Wynn, my second time playing there this trip.  I told you about the first time, and reviewed their beautiful new poker room, here.  In that post, I also mentioned that a couple of my old MGM buddies had moved over there.  I didn’t see them the first time I played there, but this time, before I noticed him, I heard someone in a suit call out my name, and I looked over and it was my pal, Brent.  “How ya doing?” he asked as he shook my hand.

Brent was always one of my very favorite dealers at MGM, and I missed him.  He’s appeared in quite a few of my stories.  Perhaps my favorite Brent story is the one here.  Anyway, we had a nice chat.  During the summer Wynn series, Brent was working mostly on the floor.  He said he was only dealing once a week.  He would prefer to deal more and floor less.  But overall, he expressed great happiness at being at the Wynn.  Of course he wanted to know if I’d seen the poker room before, and I told him I had.  We caught up and had a real nice chat.  I guess I caught him at the tail end of his shift because once I got a seat in a game, I didn’t see him again.

I bought in to the 1/3 game for $300.  In the seat next to me was a cute girl who had her face buried in her cell phone.  It turns out she was playing in a tournament on WSOP.com.  It was a satellite for the Ladies event at the WSOP which was a day or two away.  She managed to keep her mind both on the online tournament and the live game we were playing. She had over $800 in front of her when I got there. She even had time to tell me that she was at the final table (online) with her best friend.  She said she was at a disadvantage because she felt bad about stealing her friend’s blinds, but her friend had no such concern.  She ended up being heads up against her girlfriend but lost.  She got some money, but her friend got an entry to the Ladies event.  After the satellite ended, she was playing sit-n-go’s online.

Later I moved to a spot next to the dealer so I could see the cards better.  Not long after I moved, a guy took the seat next to me, just one away from the cute girl, who I am going to call Alysa.  The guy next to me recognized Alysa, saying to her, “I remember you from the old room.  Alysa, right?”  Alysa confirmed her name. “Are you still with that guy….Alvin is it?” 

“No, well yes.  I mean, he’s just my roommate, that’s all.  We’re just friends.”

The guy said, “There’s no such thing as ‘friends.’  He’s just hanging on for that day when get a little drunk and it finally happens. He definitely wants to sleep with you.”

Alysa took issue with that.  “No, it’s not like that. Men and women can be friends. He’s my best friend.”  They got into a friendly disagreement about it, and then, as was inevitable, one of them brought up the movie, “When Harry Met Sally.”  Pretty sure by the end of that movie, they had proven his point, not Alysa’s.

The banter continued.  “I’m too old for him.  He’s just a kid, I’m eight years older than him.”  I imagined Alysa was late 20’s, early 30’s. Did I mention she was cute?  Since Alvin was apparently playing poker at another table in the room, he must have over 21.  I seriously doubt he’d find Alysa too old for some hanky-panky.

The guy insisted that “he’s waiting for the night you get too drunk, before you get dried up.”

Alysa was not offended by that at all, she laughed and said, “That’s already happening.”

“Well, before you get too dried up.”

As the game went on, he kept going back to the subject.  “He’s staying in that friend zone, waiting for the opportunity. He wants to sleep with you.”

Alysa said, “Oh, I never said he doesn’t’ want to sleep with me.  But it isn’t going to happen.”  Later, she admitted that sometimes when she’d go out to a movie by herself, she’d tell Alvin that she was going on a date.

There was another woman at the table, a very aggressive player.  During the friendly table talk, she mentioned she was from Utah—Salt Lake City, I believe.  Then she said, “Well, aren’t you going to ask me if I’m a Mormon?”  So someone obliged and asked her if she was a Mormon.  And she replied, “Yes I’m a Mormon.  The more men, the better.”  Alysa found that particularly funny and said, “Oh that’s a good one, I’ll have to remember that.”

On to the poker.  Early on I had called $10 with Queen-10 of hearts, four of us saw the flop.  It was Queen-6-2, all clubs.  I called $20 and it was heads up.  The board paired the 2 on the turn and it went check-check.  The river was a blank and she bet $40 (I think this was the Mormon lady, not Alysa).  Unfortunately, my voice notes don’t explain to me why I called the $40.  Three months later, I can’t figure it out.  I guess because she checked the turn, it felt like maybe she had an Ace-King type hand was trying to steal it on the river.  But she turned over pocket 6’s for a boat.

In the small blind I completed with King-10 of hearts, it was six-ways.  The flop was King-high and I bet $10 and had three callers.  Another King hit the turn and I bet $35 and didn’t get a call.

This next hand bothered me a bit after.  I raised to $12 with Ace-Jack of clubs and had five callers.  The flop was Ace-10-x, one club.  I bet $30 and the guy on my left immediately shoved.  It was for $217 which was a bit more than I had.  It folded back to me.  I tanked.  This guy had never shoved before and hadn’t been particularly aggressive.  He maybe played a few more hands than average, but he hadn’t been betting any of them very hard.  Eventually I folded. He didn’t show.

Afterwards, I kept wondering if folding was the right play.  It was hard to put him on a hand where his shove made any sense.  Plus, my stack-to-pot ratio there was a bit more than three, which should have made it an automatic call with top pair, even if I could be outkicked.  I dunno, I just didn’t think this guy was risking his whole stack to steal what was then a $90 pot.  He ended up leaving not too long after the hand, so I was never able to get a better idea of what he was up to.

Alysa opened to $12 and I called with Ace-9 of hearts, it was 6-ways.  The flop was Ace-Ace-Queen, one heart.  After Alysa checked, I checked behind her.  I have it in my notes that “I should have bet.”  I know.  I can’t tell you why I didn’t.  No one else bet either.  The turn card was a low heart and this time I bet $45 and had no takers.

I had Ace-King and raised to $12, it was three-way.  The flop was King-Queen-9, I bet $25 and I was now heads up with Alysa. The turn was another King and my bet of $50 was called.  The river was another 9 and I bet $60.  She folded.  She said to me, “One of these times I’m going to get you.”

Next hand the Mormon lady straddled.  I made it $20 with pocket Queens and both ladies called.  The flop was King-Jack-x and my $35 bet was not called.

I raised to $12 with King-Queen of hearts, Alysa and one other called.  The flop was Ace-Jack-4, I bet $25 and only Alysa called.  We both checked a blank turn.  But the 10 on the river completed my gut-shot.  She led out with $40.  Seeing as how I had the absolute nuts, I made it $100.  She tanked, and talked. “Oh god….King-Queen?  Really?  Oh, alright,” and she called. She showed pocket 4’s for a set.  She said, “I should have bet the turn.  Why didn’t I bet the turn?”

The guy on my right, the guy who was telling Alysa that Alvin was waiting for a chance to sleep with her, agreed with her that she should have bet the turn.  “Yeah,. You shoulda bet the turn.  He would have folded.  Or at least, he should have folded.  You would have folded, right?”  I shrugged.  “I dunno, I guess it might depend on how much she bet.”

I had pocket deuces in a limped pot, four-ways.  I caught my set but the flop was all clubs.  I bet $10 and had one call.  Another club and I bet $15, he called.  The river was another damn club, making my set worthless.  We both checked, and he took it with a King of clubs.

In the big blind I had Queen-Jack of clubs and no one raised.  Three of us saw a flop of Queen-Queen-x, two spades. I bet $5 and they both called.  The turn was the Jack of spades, the absolutely perfect card for me.  I decided to check figuring someone would bet.  I was right.  The Mormon lady bet, but it was only $5. Fortunately the guy on my right, the small blind, the guy teasing Alysa all night, check-raised to $15.  I suppose just calling might have been a good option but I made it $35.  What is that when you check-raise after a check-raise? A check-raise squared?

The lady folded but the small blind called after tanking quite a bit.  The river was the 5 of hearts, and after he checked, I put out $50. The way he was agonizing over his call on the turn, I didn’t think he would call anything bigger.  And he had been playing with me for awhile and had to figure I wasn’t betting light there. Again he tanked….and spoke.  “Oh man, man…I don’t know….OK, a full house is good.”  He showed King-8 of spades.

I played awhile longer but didn’t get anything to play. I cashed out with a nice $150 profit.  And it was a fun table to boot.  Not a bad way to finish my trip.