Will somebody please tell me how to determine which way to turn when
you get off that darn elevator at Binion's Horseshoe? I have been
staying at Binions for 14 years and as of last May, at the World Series of
Poker, I have never been able to figure out which way to turn when I get
to the casino floor. I always take a couple of steps out, look one way --
usually it's the wrong way -- then look the other, get my bearings and
head toward the poker area. Okay, I'm not that dumb. I figured out a
long time ago that if I paid attention to which side I was getting on at
the top, I would know which way to turn at the bottom. But I never think
about it until I hit the casino floor.
I don't think it's just me either, because my wife is a very bright woman
and she usually is waiting for my lead when we get to the casino floor.
Furthermore, I notice everyone else is doing the same thing as I'm doing.
Don't believe me? I dare you to someday stand by the elevator on the
casino floor at Binions. I will guarantee you that most people coming
down from upstairs will be craning their neck, trying to figure out where
they are and which way to go.
Speaking of elevators, will somebody please tell me how to tell the
difference between an Englishman and an Australian. Let me explain. It
seems many times during a tournament in Las Vegas, I find myself in the
elevator with someone else. Usually I will say something like, "How's it
going?" Too many times to count, I have been answered by a person
with an English accent. This is where my problem starts.
For whatever reason, maybe just being a poker player trying to always
guess what somebody has in his or her hand, I will always make my
educated guess by saying something like, "You're English, huh?" The
reply is always the same, "No, I'm Australian." On the other hand if I say,
"Your from down under, huh mate?" the reply is again always the same.
"No, I'm from England."
One day I thought I had a slam dunk when I was standing in the coffee
shop line and a guy comes in behind me. I waited for a while and finally I
said, "How's it going?" He answered with an English accent, plus he had
one of those Western-looking hats that is turned up on the side. So
finally I thought I was going to guess correctly. I nonchalantly said,
"You're from Australia, right?" "No," he said, "I'm South African." I've
never guessed right in 8 billion tries. What happened to the law of
averages? Are all of us Americans that dumb or is it just me?
Will somebody please tell me why dealers stack pots? I know in split
games they may have to divide the pot, so in split games they are
excused. But in a hold-em or a stud game, why do dealers do it? I can't
remember the last session of poker I played, where at some point in
time, my table didn't have a dealer that was a "stacker".
One day quite awhile ago, I was stuck in a 20-40 hold-em game and in
came a dealer who insisted on stacking every pot. It seems to me when
you're stuck and you're playing in a game where they take a time
collection, delays can be very irritating. After a couple of stackings, I
asked the dealer if he would just shove the pot. I tried not to show my
frustration by trying to be cute, giving a forced laugh and saying, "Part of
the fun of winning a pot is stacking the chips." His reply was one of my
all time favorites. He said, "It's quicker this way." Yeah, I thought, much
quicker. The only possible explanation I ever could come up with why
dealers stack pots is that they are trying to be real nice so as to get
tipped. They're trying to say "Here sir, see how nice I am. I'm stacking
your pot for you." Dealers, please don't stack my pot. I'm a grown up. I
can do it myself.
Will somebody please tell me why dealers knock the table before they
start dealing a hand? After the hand is in progress, before the flop or the
turn or the river okay, the knock signifies the action is complete and I'm
going to deal. If every dealer would do it after the hand started, there
would be many, many less, "I burned and turned before the action was
complete."
So maybe just cut out the knocking at the table before the hand starts,
and insert it in the necessary spots after the hand is in progress.
For what it's worth …
you get off that darn elevator at Binion's Horseshoe? I have been
staying at Binions for 14 years and as of last May, at the World Series of
Poker, I have never been able to figure out which way to turn when I get
to the casino floor. I always take a couple of steps out, look one way --
usually it's the wrong way -- then look the other, get my bearings and
head toward the poker area. Okay, I'm not that dumb. I figured out a
long time ago that if I paid attention to which side I was getting on at
the top, I would know which way to turn at the bottom. But I never think
about it until I hit the casino floor.
I don't think it's just me either, because my wife is a very bright woman
and she usually is waiting for my lead when we get to the casino floor.
Furthermore, I notice everyone else is doing the same thing as I'm doing.
Don't believe me? I dare you to someday stand by the elevator on the
casino floor at Binions. I will guarantee you that most people coming
down from upstairs will be craning their neck, trying to figure out where
they are and which way to go.
Speaking of elevators, will somebody please tell me how to tell the
difference between an Englishman and an Australian. Let me explain. It
seems many times during a tournament in Las Vegas, I find myself in the
elevator with someone else. Usually I will say something like, "How's it
going?" Too many times to count, I have been answered by a person
with an English accent. This is where my problem starts.
For whatever reason, maybe just being a poker player trying to always
guess what somebody has in his or her hand, I will always make my
educated guess by saying something like, "You're English, huh?" The
reply is always the same, "No, I'm Australian." On the other hand if I say,
"Your from down under, huh mate?" the reply is again always the same.
"No, I'm from England."
One day I thought I had a slam dunk when I was standing in the coffee
shop line and a guy comes in behind me. I waited for a while and finally I
said, "How's it going?" He answered with an English accent, plus he had
one of those Western-looking hats that is turned up on the side. So
finally I thought I was going to guess correctly. I nonchalantly said,
"You're from Australia, right?" "No," he said, "I'm South African." I've
never guessed right in 8 billion tries. What happened to the law of
averages? Are all of us Americans that dumb or is it just me?
Will somebody please tell me why dealers stack pots? I know in split
games they may have to divide the pot, so in split games they are
excused. But in a hold-em or a stud game, why do dealers do it? I can't
remember the last session of poker I played, where at some point in
time, my table didn't have a dealer that was a "stacker".
One day quite awhile ago, I was stuck in a 20-40 hold-em game and in
came a dealer who insisted on stacking every pot. It seems to me when
you're stuck and you're playing in a game where they take a time
collection, delays can be very irritating. After a couple of stackings, I
asked the dealer if he would just shove the pot. I tried not to show my
frustration by trying to be cute, giving a forced laugh and saying, "Part of
the fun of winning a pot is stacking the chips." His reply was one of my
all time favorites. He said, "It's quicker this way." Yeah, I thought, much
quicker. The only possible explanation I ever could come up with why
dealers stack pots is that they are trying to be real nice so as to get
tipped. They're trying to say "Here sir, see how nice I am. I'm stacking
your pot for you." Dealers, please don't stack my pot. I'm a grown up. I
can do it myself.
Will somebody please tell me why dealers knock the table before they
start dealing a hand? After the hand is in progress, before the flop or the
turn or the river okay, the knock signifies the action is complete and I'm
going to deal. If every dealer would do it after the hand started, there
would be many, many less, "I burned and turned before the action was
complete."
So maybe just cut out the knocking at the table before the hand starts,
and insert it in the necessary spots after the hand is in progress.
For what it's worth …
Will Somebody Please Tell Me
By Vince Burgio
By Vince Burgio
