North Hollywood, California - I've got that feeling you get when you step off a moving sidewalk; you feel like you're still going even though the ground beneath you is stopped. I guess it's safe to say that I'm hooked on being on the road, and it's all I can do to stop myself from jumping back in the car and taking off. Sure, it was nice to get a good nights sleep in a bed, take a nice hot shower in a bathroom that has water pressure, watch TiVo. But I proved to myself what I was hoping I'd prove - I can survive without those things and not miss them. So take that, modern conveniences! I can get along just fine without you. Just me and my laptop and GPS and satellite radio and motorized studio apartment - I'm roughing it like the pioneers.
Last night I decided to throw a little spontaneity into the mix while driving back from San Luis Obispo. Unscheduled stop #1: Chumash Casino just east of Solvang. I favor Indian Casinos over L.A. card rooms because they're usually newer, nicer, and if I'm going to lose money gambling I'd rather it go to the people whose land we stole to start this great country. I arrived at 7pm and headed straight for the poker room which was tucked away in the back left corner. The casino itself was nice - open and spacious without feeling impersonal and everything looked relatively new or at least in good condition. The poker room was a decent size - about 20 tables - not large by today's standards but I didn't have to wait long. It was Wednesday night, though, and I imagine that Fridays and Saturdays it's a madhouse.
For Hold 'Em, they were spreading 2-4, 3-6, 4-8, 6-12, and 100min-200max buy in No Limit. Now, during my trip I plan on playing a lot of poker, and it's safe to say that if there's a casino within an hour of where I am, I'll visit it. I prefer to play no limit, but with the minimum buy in at most places being $100, I'm either going to go broke or end up selling my Dad's van, neither of which are appealing options. It's not that I'm not a good no-limit player, it's just that I don't have enough experience playing live games, so I tend to make mistakes. And in no-limit, all it takes is a few mistakes for you to lose your whole stack. After getting spanked for $300 at Commerce in L.A. last month, I realized that if I want to play poker and actually sit at the table and enjoy myself for several hours, it's time to go back to limit games and grind it out for a while. So I put my name on the list for 2-4 and proceeded to do just that.
It was a fun table - my favorite mix: Old retired people who just don't give a shit mixed with people checking out for the first time what this poker thing is all about. Everyone was talkative and loose and there was none of the attitude you find in L.A. I bought in for $100, and only one time, after two poorly played hands, did I dip below that. I built my stack as high $175, but a combination of sleepiness and stupidity sent $50 of my stack to the other end of the table. I was very proud of myself for recognizing the signs that I should stop playing, stood up, and cashed in my chips up $27. Over 4.5 hours of play, that comes out to $6 an hour. It won't pay for my trip, but it did by dinner and half a tank of gas.
Oh, and happy 4.20! Happy birthday to Jon's dad Jerry Serviss, and Hitler.
3 comments:
Jerry & Adolf thank you for the recognition. Best get your poker game in order before Vegas, it's going to be like a really lame version of the World Series baby!
And for all those hockey fans out there, LET'S GO RANGERS! Time to start growing your playoff beards.
Last thought--what kind of road warrior are you if you aren't inviting young, impressionable teenage girls back to your van? I mean, what's the point of even having the van if you aren't going to be a perv??
That's a fair point, and I'll answer it by saying this - I don't think it would have been possible to find two more unappealing looking girls in Los Osos that day, or even on the whole Central Coast, than those two. With the amount of oil and acne I saw, I'm shocked Bush hasn't invaded their faces. But don't think I didn't consider it - you know I'm a sucker for Jesus freaks.
Is that a Jewish thing? Feeling bad for the Indians? (And as a good liberal aren't you supposed to call them Native Americans?) Me, I feel no such guilt. Whenever they get in my face and tell me the whiteman stole their land I say "fight harder next time, pussies."
Post a Comment