How Games Start at Commerce

Wow I've fallen off the stick again. I mostly blame leo doc for the luxurious accommodations he provided for my three nights in Scottsdale. It's tough to get much done in the way of blogging when you're surrounded by sun, good food, fine wine, and a driver willing to take you to CAZ on 15 minutes notice at any semi-reasonable hour. I barely even played online. Because of all this I have tons of things I want to write about and just haven't found time to do it, which I promise I'll get back on top of soon.

Spending 4 days with leo, a southern gentleman of the highest order, has actually caused me a bit of trouble. I played Friday and Saturday at Commerce and found myself almost unable to deal with what was merely an average (by local standards) level of douchebaggery. These people are just terrible. Like OK they're not all bad, but at a table with 8 opponents there are usually at least 2 or 3 who seem to demand attention and berate the dealer constantly and are just horrible to play with. I'd started to grow a thick skin towards them, but such a skin needs constant monitoring and upkeep or else it degrades. I guess.

So I'm there on Saturday which is rare for me because as I stated I'm trying to make up some hours and there are 2 games and 8-10 names on the list and the floorman starts telling those of us just sitting around the area that he's going to start a new game. So within like 2 minutes the 6 of us that actually want to play are already sitting at the table, half of us with our own chips that we brought from the cage because lord knows depending on the Commerce chip runners is not a risk you should take if you can avoid it (admittedly this isn't their fault; they are basically expected to perform floor person duties as well, since Commerce doesn't see fit to hire nearly enough floormen to deal with the level of douchebaggery of their customers). So at this point, after all 6 of us are already there, the floorman decides it might be a good idea to call for a dealer. He picks up the phone and talks to the magic dealer man, who decides whom to send and when to send him, and what feels like 5 minutes later we actually have a dealer. Maybe it was 3, I can't be sure, I was playing Plants vs. Zombies. So the floorman now informs us that "it's gonna be short" because that's just the way things go and the current main game has 3 open seats. Literally 3 I'm not even kidding. But we don't exist yet, which means the other game is still a must move, so in order to get people into the main game he has to move them from the most move, and as usual those people are being douche bags taking extra hands and not moving when they are told, which is just a sleazy way of taking extra free hands without paying the blinds. In the interim this young white kid, who was first up on the list (I was second) has actually moved from our not yet started game into the must move and within 14 seconds has gotten into a heated argument with the dealer, 3 other patrons, and the floorman. Basically he sat down UTG+1 and the dealer didn't tell him he had to post. It wasn't even clear that he did have to post (I could see how he made the mistake, he was seated at a game and told he had to move, but our game hadn't dealt a hand yet so he's not a must-move he's a new player he has to post), but he took a hand and mucked it before putting out the $20. Now everyone is telling him he had to post and he's all upset and one guy says "it's only $20" and the kid screams "it may only be $20 to you!" and there is just an incredible amount of bru-haha over something that doesn't have to suck. The dealer is an idiot; never give someone a hand if it's not clear that they know they have to post. Especially a 23 year old kid who is min-buying into the game and is currently UTG+1. The other players are idiots. The kid didn't know, AND he mucked the hand. I know he got an edge because the hand could have been aces, but it wasn't and no harm has actually happened. Deal him out UTG and let him take his natural blind. The kid is an idiot. He said "You don't have to post where I'm from", which it soon became clear was the 8/16 game. The floorman is an idiot. His ruling was "You owe $20". But the kid's cards are in the muck, irretrievable. He's not giving you $20. He has no hand, and the dealer didn't tell him he had to post. It's the dealer's fault. You really just have to let this one go. Commerce management is a bunch of idiots for their insistence on using the must move system for 20/40 games. That's what causes all this confusion, and you don't need them. Sure sometimes a game will get short and break and a few people will be upset, but for crying out loud it's a freaking disaster. During this whole debacle I proclaim to the table "Commerce should send every employee who works here to Bay 101 for a week just to observe how they handle 20/40 and 40/80 games. When they came back, everything would just sorta work." I can't believe I said that, but it's true. Sophornia, Cissy, Steve, Cousin, Janet....I miss you all so much it. Please consider coming to Commerce so I can actually play poker instead of sit around watching monkeys fling feces at each other.

And here's the best part....30 minutes later, once I get a seat in the still must move game, min-buy kid who caused all the problems goes all in blind with his last $80 in the small blind declaring "I gotta go, the tournament is starting". He raises preflop, bets the flop, and fires all in on the turn assuring the big blind he hasn't looked at his cards yet. Upon showdown he reveals 92o for no pair 9-high, and the other guy just shakes his head and drags the pot with like a pair of 4s. As he leaves I can't help myself and say "What the heck, it's only $80".