![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Piercer in the rear, Poker in the front
Sep. 27th, 2004 02:00 pmAs we drove out to Van Nuys for Glenn's poker shindig, there was a loud metallic KerPLOCK! as we drove over the Sepulveda Pass. I didn't see anything in the road, but by the time I got down the hill to the 101 interchange, the left rear tire was (much like a modern pop idol) shimmying and making an unpleasant noise. We took the first exit and parked at a gas station. Rebecca got on the cel-phone to AAA, and literally in two minutes there was a truck there to change the tire. Whatever had been in the road had punched a nice tight hole through the tire. I should be able to get it patched, I hope. It leaked slowly enough that I didn't seem to do much damage to the tire by driving on it for a couple miles at freeway speed.
Anyway, we continued our way to Glenn's place, where there was a Hawaiian feast in progress. The whole atmosphere, with Glenn and his wife and his brother and her sisters and all their spouses and kids and his mother-in-law and his brother-in-law's mother and so on -- reminded me a lot of when I was a kid and my babysitter's family would have family gatherings when I was around. I guess Philipino families that lived for a long time in Hawaii before coming to the mainland are all pretty much alike. I enjoyed the food, but soon we were getting antsy to play some poker.
There were 15 players total at two tables with a $20 buy in. The game: No Limit Texas Hold 'Em.
Rebecca and I were at different tables. I started off pretty badly, with my chips steadily declining. Fortunately, the blinds were only at $15 and $25 this early in the game [For our $20 buy in, we were given $1000 of face value chips] so I still had some money after all my constant losing. I went all-in a couple times and won back a bit more. By this time, the blinds were $75 and $100 and a couple people had been knocked out.
Later, our table was down to four, and the other table still had everyone. That didn't last long. When they got down to four, we merged tables.
Shortly after that, I finally had a decent hand. Ace Jack. I paired my ace on the flop and three people at the table went all-in. I kept in with them. On the river, I paired the Jack. With the two pair, I cleaned out all three of them in one hand. We were down to five. Now the blinds were $100 and $200.
One by one the others dropped.
Pretty soon, it was just me and Herb and the blinds were $500 and $1000. I was betting $2000 or $3000 carelessly and getting Herb to fold, so I was winning the blinds, but finally he had a good hand and took me pretty bad.
After that, I was getting tired, so I went all-in with a king and eight of clubs. Herb called me and we showed our cards. He had the queen and five of clubs. I paired the eight on the flop, but he paired the queen on the river.
Second prize in the tournament was $90, so I did quite well for myself. Let's just hope it covers the cost of the patched tire.
Anyway, we continued our way to Glenn's place, where there was a Hawaiian feast in progress. The whole atmosphere, with Glenn and his wife and his brother and her sisters and all their spouses and kids and his mother-in-law and his brother-in-law's mother and so on -- reminded me a lot of when I was a kid and my babysitter's family would have family gatherings when I was around. I guess Philipino families that lived for a long time in Hawaii before coming to the mainland are all pretty much alike. I enjoyed the food, but soon we were getting antsy to play some poker.
There were 15 players total at two tables with a $20 buy in. The game: No Limit Texas Hold 'Em.
Rebecca and I were at different tables. I started off pretty badly, with my chips steadily declining. Fortunately, the blinds were only at $15 and $25 this early in the game [For our $20 buy in, we were given $1000 of face value chips] so I still had some money after all my constant losing. I went all-in a couple times and won back a bit more. By this time, the blinds were $75 and $100 and a couple people had been knocked out.
Later, our table was down to four, and the other table still had everyone. That didn't last long. When they got down to four, we merged tables.
Shortly after that, I finally had a decent hand. Ace Jack. I paired my ace on the flop and three people at the table went all-in. I kept in with them. On the river, I paired the Jack. With the two pair, I cleaned out all three of them in one hand. We were down to five. Now the blinds were $100 and $200.
One by one the others dropped.
Pretty soon, it was just me and Herb and the blinds were $500 and $1000. I was betting $2000 or $3000 carelessly and getting Herb to fold, so I was winning the blinds, but finally he had a good hand and took me pretty bad.
After that, I was getting tired, so I went all-in with a king and eight of clubs. Herb called me and we showed our cards. He had the queen and five of clubs. I paired the eight on the flop, but he paired the queen on the river.
Second prize in the tournament was $90, so I did quite well for myself. Let's just hope it covers the cost of the patched tire.
