deardealer

Act like you’ve been here before. We have heard this before but what doeds it really mean? It means show some class and don’t act like an idiot. don’t act like it is the first time you’ve won a big pot. or the first time that you’ve won a tournament, even if it is. Class is not a prerequisite of a poker player. How do you want ot be remembered? The Phil Helmouth type or the Phil Ivey type? Both Phils are very different and the bad guy probably induces more poker conversation, that is true. But who do you really respect. The loudmouth who thinks he is the best and the only one who is supposed to win each time. Self controll is a seldom used word in the card room. If self controll really was practiced then there would be no customers. Most players don’t even want to win although it would be NICE. They just want to play and be in action. The action is the exciting part or else more people would cash out as a winner. There are only a handfull of players in any given club who are truley there to win. The game isn’t as much fun when you come to get the money. Drawing out on the best hand or beating the best player seems to be the agenda for most. So think about what you are doing at the table and then do it. Acting like an ass when you lose a pot or screaming at the dealer just puts a target on your head because you have a tilt TELL. If you play for pleasure then manage your money and just loses what you came with. Do not go to the ATM because you will feel stupid tommarow. if you don’t get in too deep then you can always get even next time. The casinos will still be there. When i lived in Vegas I was always in a hurry to go out and play, I had something pushing me all the time. I should have chilled a little more and picked my games. Advice is hard to take if you are a compulsive player. Slow down & think first, just a little.

Over twenty years have passed since I encountered the physco at Lake Elsinore. I took a job dealing in San Diego and told the crazy story to a couple of dealers. One dealer tells me “Oh I know him, that was Bill. He was a killer and a woman hater. He used to play here. Last I heard, he was back in prison”. Whoa I’m so glad he wasn’t in prison for killing me!
My best friend was murdered in Las Vegas and was a beautiful girl who was only 29 years old. I went on a week-end trip and when I returned home, I saw her story in the local newspaper. This was Vegas so the real details were not given. I was her roommate and was never even questioned. Her boyfriend went to the police and got the gory details. He found out that her body was covered in cigarette burns as she was obviously tortured. I still cry if I think about it too much. There was no mention of her $10,000 ring that was missing. Many years later I ran in to a card player, Fred “Horseface” Stanton,who told me that he knew who did it. If it really was the two guys he fingered, then I say thank God they are both dead now!

I was dealing Lo-Ball @ The Sahara Dunes in Lake Elsinore, California, during my entire pregnancy. On about the eighth month I get a crazy lunatic in my game. The man is 5 ft. at best with a long scar across his entire face. He is about 60 yrs. old with long grey hair and beard. He looked like he could be related to Charles Manson. So this little mutt is cursing at a whisper and to the players on either side of him. I could see one of our regular customers becoming annoyed and worried. The first mf word to come out of his mouth that I could distinguish got him a warning from me. I told him that I didn’t know where he played before but you cannot speak that way in this club. He gave me the stink eye and tried to put a curse on me! I said “If you pipe up again, I’ll have to call the floorman over, buddy”. I figured that I needed a little male back up at that point. He quieted down a little But the next evening he was there again. Same senario only this time I gave the shift boss a heads up on the “Grim Reaper”. The security waited behind him to escort him out but stood by idley while he threatened me. He told me that he was going home to get his shotgun and come back to blow my head off. Turns out he had murdered a woman in San Diego and was just released from prison. Win some lose some.

Yes, you read it right, I said killers! I have dealt to 5 killers during my dealing history and that is only what I am aware of. I mean murders that were comitted by intention and premeditation, not a drug overdose. The Hustlers, etc., are what people think of when they think of card rooms. I mean card rooms NOT casino’s. When people gamble often or above their means they sometimes get desperate. When desperation sets in, anything can happen! This means that someone is looking for money and will do things that are normally against their grain or moral fiber. I see a somewhat desperate time for Americans and the same applies in life as in the poker game. Crime happens when the need for money arises and it comes in many forms…even murder. During the next several blogs I plan to share with you the circumstances of these horrific crimes. A book was passed around the casino about a murder. When I asked about it they put me on the list to read. This story was of a man we dealt to every weekend and tells every detail in his murder investigation and how it was botched. Another was a roommate of mine, who was only 29 years old. Card rooms have been looked down upon by the public since the beggining. Some of these attitudes are pertinent. Working in it every week tends to make me look beyond the sickness. Now that t.v. has glorified the world of playing cards, i see alot of desperation in our futures and this includes you. You will be affected by this somewhere in your future. The younger generation thinks that it is all fun and games. After all it is on t.v. and it is a game Heck, you can even play on-line for free. What harm could that cause? Right? Teach your children well.

Although i have many opinions and ideas from what i see at the tables everyday, i do also have stories. When i started out in Vegas there were no women poker dealers. I have elaborated on this subject in past posts. The times were very different and part of the reason was the Internet. I was only 20 when i started to deal at The Alladin but is was easy to change your dates or lie about employment and become whoever you wanted. At that time you couldn’t be checked out as easily or did The Human Resource Department really even dig in. At that time the casinos did not really run the card rooms. The card rooms were leased at that time so investigations were only made by the card room managers. Johnny Moss was mine, and he was the first to hire women in Las Vegas. Now you may walk into any card room in the world and possibly see more women dealing poker than men. Of course, when you look at the tables , you will see more men playing that women. But we are out there and in the games so men BEWARE. Playing like a girl doesn’t mean what it used to.

Halloween is over but do not take your mask off. I recently had a Halloween party and invited a girlfriend and her husband. I had dealt to her husband in the past and didn’t know if he had a personality or not. I told my husband that I want the party to click and didn’t want any sad sacks. To my surprise. not only was he the life of the party he also won 1st place for our Costume Contest. He came as a shiek with a bomb of flairs and a clock strapped to his waist. It was hilarious. He said he didn’t really want to wear it out in public but a home party was perfect. I have dealt to the “Mad Bomber”, since the party and he had the same personality that I had remembered. When he came to our party with his party make-up, he was really taking his poker mask OFF!