Grand Theft Auto - The Poker Game

In one of those "I'm not doing anything interesting tonight, so let's go play some poker" moments, I drove to downtown LA to get into USC Gabe's game. Gabe is quite a character - annoying laugh, very aggressive bettor/bluffer, and excellent in shorthanded games. Or I should say, not patience or tight enough at full tables. Gabe's cast of characters is why I made the drive. Last time I visited him, we had 9 players, and one guy was into the $20 buy-in game for $200. Seriously.

Maybe two or three people have a decent idea about what makes good poker play, but the game is wild and ripe. What I didn't know about this trip is the big donator from the last game, Eric, is the host. I hold Eric in extremely high regard. Not only did he get into this game for $160+ (he owns his own business, and business is good), but his place is high-class and wonderful. We played in the Library on the top floor, and the place is crawling with attractive 20 year old women matriculating at the nearby Fashion Institute. We had four or five stop by, chat with Eric, dance to music, and chase their whiskey with Beck's. Two of them played, one of them laying down a set of fives to John's big bet with two pair on the river. Also of note was the guy on my left, who said something about how he worked in porno, behind the cameras. Either photo or film. I missed that conversation, but I thought it was a riot. Music blasting, drunk girls dancing around, and I'm playing poker with porno producers, business leaders, lawyers, and college kids.

My very first hand dealt to me made an impression. I was in the BB with K9, the sawmill. I had Gabe on my right in the SB, and Host Eric on his right with the button. Six or seven people in the unraised pot, so I get a free look at the flop. I figure most of these people are a "bet when you've got it, bet sometimes when you don't" crowd. Flop comes K, 4, 3 with two spades. I check, worrying about my kicker. It's checked all the way around to Eric, who bets $12 or so at a $3 pot. This sets off a little alarm in my head. This bet from Eric usually says "I have something and I sense weakness, so fold now." I decide that my sawmill is good here, so I go all-in. Nice work, checkraising the host on the first hand for all of your buy-in. I get a few ooh's and aah's and Eric calls with pocket tens. I held my tongue, not mentioning a decent preflop raise would've gotten me to fold. My kings held up, and I've got $40+ in front of me. Lucky me, Eric is a gracious player even when he's losing money.

After that, I didn't play much. I didn't like the idea of calling a raise with KQ offsuit, 22, or 66 (which would've rivered the winning full house in a $100+ pot) with players still left to act. It took dozens of hands before we had another unraised pot, and a preflop reraise wasn't uncommon. Chips were flying, and I didn't want to enter the fray with a pellet gun. At one point, we were playing 11-handed after PCS Director John showed up. Raises were also overly big for 25/50 cent blinds. $3.50 to $6.50 was standard, so it's no wonder we had more rebuys than Gabe's chip set could accomodate. At one point, Porno Guy had $56 in cash in the center of his chipstack, and that cash was in play. All told, there was probably $500+ circulating.

The last hand of the night was also against Eric. We were four-handed, and I'm the BB with AJo. Eric goes all-in for his last $12 or so, and I was the only caller. He's got KJ of diamonds, and I have the ace of diamonds. Two diamonds by the turn, but the river was a brick and my pair of aces takes it. In for $20, out for $48. Thanks, Eric!!

In a side note interesting only to me, I got a phone number. Late in the evening, Mandy and her friends were enjoying the festivities. Mean-ol' Eric wouldn't give Mandy his Von Dutch hat, so I loaned her my UNC hat. "Oooh, you're bald. And your head's bigger than mine. I love that!!" After a little bit of flirting (I'm pretty sure she was intentionally making boob-to-bald-dome contact), Mandy's drunk friend thought it was time to go back to their room. On her way out the door, Mandy starts reciting her phone number, then yells "Don't any of you want my number?" She repeats it, and I punch it into my cell, and dial her number after the door closes. She answers, I tell her I'm the bald guy with the Carolina hat, and wave at her through the glass. The other guys are agape, and one or two asked me for her number. I might be a little slow, but you dorks are worse. Carpe d-cup. At the time, she was digging me. I'll give her a call and see if she remembers. She's another reason I'd love for Eric to host again.