Personal Dork Assistant

Vegas, cont.

The teppanyaki meal was tasty, even if the Benihana-wannabe schtick has got a little old at this point. Uncle's friend's sister and her family were also in town from Arcadia, and we almost filled up the teppanyaki table, but they wedged in a Brit couple with oh-so-posh accents at the end. It was quite the cosmopolitan mix, actually. A European family asked for their Pellegrino cold. Three Indian ladies in saris sat at another table. A group walked by speaking in Cantonese, and there were the requisite Japanese folks (possibly here for the K-1 kickboxing tournament?).

Got a glass of white for the sashimi and teppan seafood, and uncle ordered his usual bottle(s) of Bordeaux red for the table. So I basically drank more than what was good for me. Plus I was too full to drink much water, which didn't help, especially in the dry air. Tried to get over it in the sports book on their comfy loungers, but I had to go up to the room and crash. Got up at 2:30 AM feeling reasonably clear-headed after an Advil and about five cups of water. Headed out to the Mirage for some 3-6 hold-'em action.

Even Vegas slows down sometimes. The neon was on full-blast, but it was strange to hear the cicadas calling as I walked down the Strip. Got into a game with some talkative guys who'd met up and formed a little group, mostly in pursuit of a comped breakfast. The game was weak but loose, as half the people would play the flop and then check all the way around on the turn. I think I was playing OK pre and post-flop, but I shouldn't have played some hands when there were flush or straight draws on the table that I knew I couldn't beat with my pair. Some of my middle pair plus overcard hands were dead men walking, too. Then there were the flat out bad beats. Got pocket kings and played fast, but Mr. Calling Station (with a home in Malibu and a vacation home in Santa Barbara) wouldn't quit. The face-up cards were garbage, no faces and no flushes in sight. Only out would've been a straight with 5-7 hole cards. Sure enough, the guy played 5-7 unsuited and kicked me in the balls. Anyway, there were way too many crappy straights that hit.

Did get a hot streak where I got some good cards and some hands where I flopped big as the blind. Got up about $75, then a slow, slightly bumpy, slide down from there. Hung in there when the dealer told us about the traditional 5AM sandwiches. Sure enough, there they were on the brink of dawn. Nice sandwiches too, lots of varieties, and they even cut them into triangles and removed the crust. For a bunch of people who've been sitting at a table for hours, they sure moved like a bat outta hell when the food showed. Stuck around until 8AM, well after the sun came up, but not yet full-blast. All in all, lost 140 bucks in five hours of action, which is within normal variance for a $3-$6 game, I think. A little frustrating in that I knew the people at the tables were playing badly, but I didn't know how to take advantage of it, but considering I've played poker for money for about 10 hours total in my life, it wasn't bad. The experience in Magic probably helped me from tilting more. I'm plenty used to losing games and tournaments to lousy draws and bad luck (and lack of skill).