College Football Is Fixed!

It’s gotta be right?

I’m going off topic here but at least this post came about due to some conversation at the poker table just the other day.  Besides, I’ve talked about sports betting before, even though that is one of the view bad habits I don’t really have.

My previous post, about my recent session at Player’s Casino (see here) got too long to include this non-poker part.  So I thought I’d do a separate post.

I mentioned the guy I named “Texas” who wasn’t afraid to put his chips in play. He three-bet with King-5 off and then called a $200 shove from a brand new player to the game with that hand.  And won.

Playing poker isn’t the only way he liked to gamble, it seems.

During the session he would periodically be checking his phone for updates on games.  I suspecedt he might have a wager or two on some of the games he was checking up on.

One game I know he had a wager on was the TCU-Texas game that was played earlier that day.  You see, he was pissing and moaning because that game cost him a 6-game parlay.  As he was telling the story, the game was a lock for him because it was 50-0, in favor of TCU, late in the game.  All he need was for the game to end that way and he’d hit his 6-team parlay.

Apparently, he had laid a boatload of points because when Texas scored a meaningless TD very late in the game, it ruined his parlay.  It wasn’t clear to me if he would have been ok with a Texas FG or not, I just know the TD ruined it for him.

Now, this was not a bit surprising, although you hear it a lot more in Vegas than in L.A.  If I had a nickel for every story I’ve heard at the poker table from some guy whining about how a single meaningless score in a single game cost him a big parlay, I’d be able to buy Microsoft.  Not shares of Microsoft—the entire company.

You don’t hear it as often in L.A. since sports betting isn’t legal here.  But amazingly enough, there are people who find ways to wager on the games anyway.  Shocking, I know.

Like I said, nothing unusual there.  But here’s the thing.  He then went on a rant about there being something fishy with that meaningless touchdown. He seemed to think it was impossible that Texas could have legitimately scored a meaningless touchdown on a pass play since they had been so inept offensively the entire game.  He said something to the effect, “They had like 22 yards passing all game and suddenly they complete a touchdown pass?  Doesn’t that sound fishy to you?  How could they complete a touchdown pass after being so pathetic for the entire game.”  Then he went on and on about how easy it would be to bribe some of these college kids to throw a game—or at least “shave points.”  “They’re young kids, they need money…..blah, blah, blah.”

Really sir, really?  Is that so?

I didn’t engage with the guy. What he was saying was too stupid to argue with.  But of course, I couldn’t stop thinking about how lame this was.

Where do I start?  Let’s acknowledge that it is at least possible games could be thrown, sure.  It’s happened before.  And it will likely happen again.

But seriously, I can think of a bunch or reasons how that TD got scored, without having watched the game, without having seen either team play this year.  Here’s one thought: if you play long enough, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  Even a lousy team will score against a good team once in a while, right?

Or perhaps the TCU defense was guilty of taking it easy.  They knew there was no chance to lose the game, so perhaps they weren’t quite trying as hard as they were when the game was on the line.

Or maybe, just maybe, they had their second or third stringers in the game, and those bench warmers just weren’t good enough to stop the mighty Texas offense?  Especially since Texas would have been highly motivated to get on the scoreboard to avoid the embarrassment of a shutout.

But to hear this guy tell it, the only possible way to explain that meaningless score was that the fix was in.

But here’s a better question for the guy.  If you really think it was fixed, that someone on TCU got paid to let them score there, if you think that happens a lot (as he was implying), why would ever bet on college football?

Seriously, why would put real money on it in that case?  It would be like playing in a poker game where you knew the cards were marked?  Or against a guy who was a mechanic who could make the cards come off the deck in any order he wanted?  Why would you play that game?

You wouldn’t, so would you bet college football games if you thought the gamblers were paying the players to throw games or shave points? 

Why?

OK, maybe the guy was just blowing off steam because his 6-way parlay came thisclose to hitting.  It couldn’t have missed because he made a bad pick, right?  There had to be some nefarious reason he lost that bet.

That’s it, then.  College Football is fixed.

You hear some of the dumbest things at the poker table.  And a lot of it has nothing to do with poker.

How Do I Get That Last Hundred Bucks?

I returned to Player’s Casino yesterday for another poker session, and it turned out to be a good one.

When I got there, the parking lot was quite full and I suspected I’d have to wait a bit to get into a game, and I was right.  Eighteen people on the list for the 1/2 game and 10 on the list for the 2/3 game that I play.  Unfortunately, this poker room does not take call-ins, so you just have to tough it out.  There were at capacity and unable to open any more games until tournament tables (they have a $125 tournament on Saturdays that starts at 11AM) broke.

I decided to put my name on the list for the 1/2 game (which I’d never played) as well as the 2/3, thinking that since there were more 1/2 games I could get probably get a seat there first, and then decide if I wanted to move when my name came up on the 2/3 list.  And within a few minutes after arriving, they did call a new 1/2 game so I was pretty sure I’d get into a 1/2 game first.  My only issue with the 1/2 game is that that max buy-in is $100 so you are pretty much always playing short-stacked until you can win a decent pot.

Sure enough, I got called into 1/2 game.  It was the table that had just opened right after I arrived.  Perhaps that was the reason it was so tight, as I’ve seen other 1/2 games with big stacks.  One of my other minor complaints with that game is that they insist on playing it with $1 chips, not $5 chips, which I find inconvenient and annoying.

I was there for about an orbit when I got a decent enough hand—Queen-10 suited in late position.  I opened for $8 and didn’t get a call.  A few minutes later I heard my name called for a new 2/3 game and had no problem deciding to move to that.  I knew that brand new 2/3 games at this poker room are not typically tight. 

After about an orbit or two, I got my first playable hand—my old friends, the dreaded pocket Kings. I opened the pot to $12 and it was four of us seeing a flop of 7-7-3.  I c-bet $40 and didn’t get a call.

On the button, I had Ace-7 of clubs, and called $13 from the player who was the most aggro at this point in the session.  He apparently is from Texas (or has lived there—didn’t have the accent), so let’s call him “Texas.” Three of us saw the flop of 10-7-2, two clubs.  I called Texas’ c-bet of $31 and we were heads up.  The last two cards were bricks, but there was no further betting.  Could my pair of 7’s be good?  Yes, they were, he had Ace-King.

I limped in with pocket 8’s.  Seven of us saw a flop of Ace-8-6, two clubs.  I led out for $12 and got two callers.  A red 7 hit the turn and the guy who had first action led out with a shove—it was only $85.  I had him well covered.  The guy behind me had less than $50 so I had nothing to do but call.  The guy behind me openly debated about putting his last $43 in the pot on what was obviously a draw.  He eventually called. A red 3 on the river looked pretty harmless.  The guy who shoved for $85 showed Ace-6 offsuit for a flopped two pair.  The other guy mucked some kind of draw.  It was a pretty nice pot, and my $300 buy-in had grown to over $500.

There was a hand that will illustrate the kind of player Texas was that I wasn’t involved in.  New player came into the game, immediately on my right, between Texas and me.  Someone in early position had opened for $12, and Texas, in late position, made it $42.  This new guy, who had come to the game with about $200, announced all-in.  It folded back to Texas who had the new guy covered.  He debated openly about whether he wanted to gamble and defend his $42 three-bet.  He finally decided to call.  The only important card on the board was, believe it or not, a 5.  New guy had Ace-Queen of spades—Ace high, therefore.  Texas had King-5 offsuit!  Yeah.  Seriously.  He three-bet with that hand and that called an all-in for $200 from a new player—as far as I could tell he didn’t know the guy from Adam—with King-5 off.  And of course got lucky enough to win the pot with a lowly pair of 5’s.

The new guy rebought and kept prooving that he was a very loose, aggressive player.  So there were at least two players at the table not afraid to put chips in play with marginal holdings.  I was licking my chops, just waiting to get something decent (or even semi-decent) with which to get some of these guys’ chips.

Then this young guy came to the table.  He looked like someone you see at every third seat in a Vegas poker room—but not that frequently in the L.A. rooms. Sunglasses, baseball cap (worn properly), earbuds.  Not a hoodie, more of an athletic type windbreaker, but close enough.  He said he had just busted out of the tournament.  He bought in for the max, $300, and made his presence known immediately.

I had Ace-King off and after one limper, I made it $15 and a couple of players called.  Then this young guy with the shades, who was playing his first hand at the table, made it $53.  It folded to me.  What should I have done there?  The $300 he had was much less than me but more than everyone left in the hand, stacks of around $125-$200.  I thought it was slightly more likely than not that no one behind me would call.  It was an awkward spot for me.  If I call, I’m not really sure how much I like an Ace or a King.  And other than my “read” by his general look, I had no information on this player.  I thought about raising (shoving?) but did I really feel like risking $300 on Ace-King?  Some of you might, but I didn’t. 

I folded but two players did call and saw a flop of Jack-9-x, rainbow.  The guy with the shades made a $100 c-bet and took it down uncontested.  Did I make a bad fold there?  I’ll never know.

I had pocket Queens and raised to $15 and had two callers.  The flop was King-Queen-6, two spades.  Ugh.  Pretty scary flop for middle set.  I bet $30 and didn’t get a call.  That was the second set I hit for the day, didn’t get paid much for it, and I figured that I had probably used up all my luck flopping sets for the day.

With those three guys in the game, and a few others, I was just waiting for another opportunity.  But I went incredibly card dead, and just couldn’t find another spot to play for a long, long time.  I tried opening up as much as I could, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities, and when I did play a few speculative hands, I’d miss completely and just bleed chips. Example:  With pocket 3’s, I called a raise to $20 from a relatively short stack because there were the aggros with big stacks who hadn’t folded yet.  One or two of them did call but I missed and had to fold to a big flop bet. I didn’t think this was the type of table where bluffing would have been at all successful. 

I stuck around for a couple of more hours and hadn’t really gotten anywhere.  But in trying to catch something, my stack had dwindled down to about $350-$360 or so.  The shades guy had moved over to the PLO game, but the other two maniacs were still there.  I wanted to leave, but as the big blind came to me, I decided that I would play one last orbit.  I really came thisclose to leaving at that point, but decided to post my big blind and that for absolutely sure, this would be the last one I posted this day.

I don’t remember the big blind hand, didn’t get to play it, but next hand, the small blind, I had Ace-7 offsuit. It limped to me so I completed for a buck and the big blind checked behind me.  Now, the big blind is the key player in this hand.  He had just come to the table a few minutes earlier, stack I guess around $200, and had engaged in a non-stop conversation with Texas since arriving.  It appeared they were old poker pals, not only from this room but from a few other rooms around southern California.  I didn’t get the impression they had ever socialized together outside of a poker and there was a pretty big age difference—Texas had at least 30 years on this guy, who looked quite young (no shades, cap or hoodie, however).

All told, seven of us saw the flop. It came Ace-7-3, but it was all clubs.  I led out for $12 and had two callers, including the big blind.  The turn was a King of spades and I put out $20.  The big blind popped it to $50 and the other guy folded.

Hmm….as I said, I had no read on the guy.  Did he flop a flush and slow-play it one street?  Did he like the King?  How?  Pocket Kings, he would have raised preflop, so no set of Kings.  Two pair, Ace-King?  No, again, he would have likely raised pre.  King-7?  Maybe.  A set of 7’s or 3’s he slow played until then?  With all those clubs on the board?

Obviously I could be behind a flush.  But for a read, I decided to go by this:  Maybe he plays like his buddy Texas.  If that had been Texas, I could sure see him raising the turn there with just a draw, or maybe a pair and a flush draw.  Maybe he had the King of clubs and a blank?

It’s hard to fold two pair and I couldn’t do it, and one of the reasons was that this guy was a buddy of the aggro, Texas.  Ever do that before?  Get a read based on who he’s friends with?

So I called.  I wasn’t sure how much I could comfortably call on the river, but then I saw the river card, which was a beautiful, beautiful 7.  No flush worries for me.

Now the decision was to bet or try for a check-raise.  If I bet, how much?  I really couldn’t count on him betting.  I figured the paired board might slow him up.  He might be happy to check with his flush, if that’s what he had.  By the same reasoning, he might be hesitant to call a really big bet.  That was just a judgment call, I really didn’t know.  I just grabbed a stack of $100, split it in half, and put the $50, hoping for a call.

He tanked a bit, asked for size of my bet, and then counted out chips….more chips.  He put out a big stack.  It was over $100.  I didn’t ask for an exact count, because I could see that what he had left was a bit less than what he had just bet.  So anything I raised would be all in if he called.

I didn’t really think, I just said, “all-in.”  He replied….”I was afraid of that.”

He tanked forever.  He verbalized his feelings and it was pretty clear he had flopped a flush.  He seemed to know he was beat, but was having difficulty letting go.  “You really liked that 7, didn’t you?”  I sat there stoned faced.  At another point, he said—apparently to Texas—“Should I waste another $100?”  Texas responded, appropriately, “I can’t help you.”

Finally, finally….he folded.  He showed 10-9 of clubs.  He said, “I can’t beat your full house.”  Texas said, “Or his bigger flush.”

He said “nice hand” as I happily stacked my chips.  I played that orbit and as I had promised myself, left when the big blind came back to me.  By this time, the guy who lost that pot had moved over to the PLO game.  I ended cashing out up $285, just shy of a double up.

It was a good day, for sure.  On the way home I was thinking about how I could have played the river better, and possible gotten all the guy’s chips.  One thing I always think of—does it matter that I went all-in when that was really the only bet?  I mean, if instead, suppose I had just bet twice his bet (which would have been all-in for him to call).  I mean psychologically, is it less intimidating than seeing an actual all-in with a big stack, even though the result is the same?  I always wonder about that.  In this case, the guy was an experienced player and I don’t think it mattered.  Would it make a difference with a more inexperienced player?

The other thing I thought of is something I never do, and don’t like it when they do it to me….talk.  I mean, before I re-raised.  You know, when he raised, I could have Hollywooded it up, asked for a count, counted my chips, then said something like, “Did you really flop a flush?  You flopped a flush?  Hmm….do I believe you flopped a flush?  I don’t think I believe you.”  Then pause and then put out a re-raise.  Might that have worked?  Is that something I need to add to my repertoire? 

I’m happy booking that win but I want to learn how to get that last hundred bucks, if possible.

And below is depiction of something else I'd like to learn how to get......

Las Vegas Poker Room Football Promos (Oct. Ante Up Column)

My latest column for Ante Up is online and can be found here.  But WAIT....if you don't usually read my columns (probably because I never have pics of boobies in them), you might want to read this one.  At least if you're in Vegas, or are planning to head to Vegas before the year is out, you should definitely read it.


The main thrust of this column is to give an overview of what NFL promos the Vegas rooms are offering this year.  So you may want to bookmark this for your next trip.

Also...there's bonus material.  Of course, some of the rooms didn't get me their info on their promos before the deadline last month.  So I've included that material at the end, which is not included either online at the Ante Up site or in the magazine you'll find in your neighborhood poker room soon. (Of course, I'll be including that in my next column, but as a regular reader of my blog, you get it first--see, your reward for visiting this corner of the blogosphere regulary).

Remember, my column in the mag and at the Ante Up site is embedded into the entire West Coast report.
 
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The football season is upon us and that means great football promos in the Las Vegas poker rooms. Here’s a look at what’s available:

MANDALAY BAY: High hand of the quarter for morning and evening games on Sunday, plus Monday and Thursday night games earn $100, but that rolls over if a qualifying hand isn’t hit. The minimum hand is jacks full.

STRATOSPHERE: Football squares run for three games on Sunday and a flush or better gets a square. Each quarter’s square gets $100. Unclaimed prizes for each quarter are rolled over to the next week with a maximum roll over amount of $500.

TREASURE ISLAND: For every 10 hours of live play in a week, players get an entry into the Pro Football Pick’em contest. Players pick winners in the week’s slate of games and the top three players with the most correct picks get $500, $300 and $200. The player with the most picks at season’s end gets an additional $2K, runner-up gets $1K and third through 12th place gets $500 each.

SANTA FE STATION: Football squares for morning and night games on Sunday, plus Monday and Thursday night games are worth $50 and will roll over if unclaimed. Aces full gets one square, straight flush gets two squares and a royal gets three squares.

PALACE STATION: Football squares for the Sunday morning game and the Sunday, Monday and Thursday night game earn $50 for the first three quarters and the final score is $100. Money rolls over if the winner is not present. Players get squares for 10s full or better. An interesting twist is that players also get a square for winning a showdown with 7-2 off suit.

CLUB FORTUNE: Any full house beginning on Mondays earns a football square to the Sunday night game. The prizes are $50 for the first quarter, $75 for the second, $100 for the third and $200 for the final score.

LUXOR: Players get raffle tickets at the start of each Sunday, Monday and Thursday night game and get another ticket at the beginning of each subsequent quarter.

Players can earn a ticket for each half-hour of live play before game time. Tickets are drawn at the end of every quarter and are worth $25. Tickets are drawn after each score: $50 for a field goal, $100 for a TD and $400 for a safety. Players who win the drawings earn multipliers for the high hand of the hour Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (9-1 p.m.).

SUNCOAST: Three Sunday games as well as the Monday and Thursday night games have football squares. All quarters are worth $50 and roll over if unclaimed.

Players earn squares for getting an ace-high flush or better in a cash game or for cashing in a daily tournament. Double squares are awarded from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. and for playing $4-$8 limit or any NLHE game.

RED ROCK: Cash drawings are for Sunday morning and evening games, plus Monday and Thursday night games. After every touchdown, a random player is awarded $100 ($150 for the Monday night game) and two tables are selected for $50 splash pots. Field goals are worth $50 and $25.

ORLEANS: Sunday morning and evening games have random-seat drawings and splash pots ($50 for a field goal, $100 for a TD, $200 for a safety or a TD by the defense or special teams). Same amounts are splashed at the table of the winning player. Monday and Thursday games pay $300 for the highest hands of each quarter (ace-high flush or better). Up to three hands split the $300.

SAM’S TOWN: Monday’s game has squares, $75 for each quarter with a $25 bonus for players active in a cash game at the time. Qualifying hands start out at kings full or better and decrease daily.

GREEN VALLEY: For Sunday afternoon and evening games, players who flop quads or straight flushes win prizes between $250 and $1K.

FLAMINGO: Three Sunday games will have random drawings, $50 for a field goal, $100 for a TD and two $100 winners for a safety.

SOUTH POINT: There are football squares for Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games as aces full qualify. The first three quarters are worth $50 and the final score wins $100. The Sunday game of the week will have cash drawings, $50 for a field goal, $100 for a TD and $200 for a safety.

PLANET HOLLYWOOD: For three games Sunday as well as Monday and Thursday night games, look for splash pots for tables randomly selected for each field goal ($25) and TD ($50). Safeties and special teams scores will earn every table a $25 splash pot. All splash pot values double in overtime.

MGM:  Random seats selected for cash drawings after every score during Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games.  Prizes vary between $100 and $500.

MONTE CARLO: Highest hand of the quarter receives cash during Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games. The 1^st quarter is worth $50, the 2^nd quarter is $100, $150 for the 3^rd quarter and $200 for the 4^th quarter.

EXCALIBUR:   For Monday Night game: players earn one raffle ticket each hour on the hour beginning 4 hours prior to kick-off. Two tickets drawn at halftime $50 each; one ticket drawn at 9pm for $50 and one ticket drawn at 10pm for $100. Also, all active players in a cash game are eligible to have their seat drawn every time there is a completed score in the game. Field goal $50; Touchdown $100; Safety $200 

BOULDER STATION:  Players earn football squares for full houses in Omaha and NLHE.  The squares are worth $50 each for the Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games.

 

OTHER NEWS: The Linq reopened its poker room, which had closed in January. The new location of the four-table room is at the front of the property, practically on the Strip.

Carrie Jacobs, long-time supervisor of the old room, is manager. The main cash game is a $1-$1 NLHE with a $50-$300 min-max. It also offers a $1-$3 game with a $100 min and no cap. On busier nights, a $1-$1 PLO game spreads ($50-$300). High-hand bonuses are offered. Four $45 tournaments are offered daily (11 a.m., 3 p.m., 8 and 11). Players start with 5K chips and levels are 15 minutes.

The World Series of Poker Circuit returns to Planet Hollywood on Nov. 12-23. The $1,675 main event offers a $1.5M guarantee and starts Nov. 20. Two charity events are part of series. The Jennifer Harman celebrity event for the Nevada SPCA is Nov. 14. The next day, Patrick Schwarzenegger hosts the All-In for Best Buddies event. A $250 dealer’s choice non-ring two-day tournament starts Nov. 17. A two-day, $3,250 buy-in high roller is Nov. 22.

The Wynn Fall Classic runs Oct. 15-25. All the events are NLHE, including a $600 seniors event that opens the series and offers a $50K guarantee. The $1,600 championship begins Oct. 23 and has a $300K guarantee.