Poker Ambassador
Don't play poker like a gremlin
By Randall Rapp

It used to be there were things you could count on. Fortunately, there are still a few out there, like having candles on your birthday cake, politicians wasting money like they get it for free, and celebrities turning up on Internet videos in compromising positions.

Unfortunately, some of the things your Ambassador used to count on when playing poker tournaments are now about as reliable as your brother-in-law’s 1975 AMC Gremlin. Here are three of them that come to mind (if you have more, email them to me at randy@thecardroom-norcal.com).

1. Dry side pot. You open-raise the pot only to have a short stack raise all-in. Another player calls his raise, as do you. With one of you all-in, the other can only bet against a side pot which is currently empty (or “dry”). Used to be you’d check it down, hoping to eliminate a player, because eliminating players is what tournaments are all about.

Sure there are exceptions. If you’ve got a made hand that is likely to beat the all-in player, yet vulnerable to a draw, you might want to bet and remove that possibility.

Recently, though, I had a guy make a big bet into a dry side pot with jack high. I folded my ace, his hand never improved, an ace came on the river, and the all-in player won the pot with pocket sevens. It’s a Gremlin play, and I don’t mean the critters from the movie.

2. Massive overbets. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with overbetting the pot. Our pal Prahlad Friedman highly recommends it as an option and we’re sure not going to argue with him. Sure, back in the day a typical no-limit bet was somewhat less than (or about the size of) the pot. Then people started overbetting the pot and that was fine too, especially in a cash game.

But I’m talking about tournaments and the mind-boggling situation when the blinds are only 25/50 and the first one entering the pot goes all-in for about 4,000. I see this so much it makes my head spin. I don’t get it and I don’t want to get it. Why would you risk 4,000 to win 75? Gremlin!

3. Celebrations. There’s nothing wrong with being happy you won a big pot or prevailed on a decisive coin flip, but time was you collected your chips and moved on to the next hand. Maybe a quick “yes,” fist pump or hand clap but that’s it. Now it’s like an Ochocinco touchdown celebration half the time.

I blame television. While Norman Chad might berate them for it, ESPN just keeps on showing it which means people get the signal it’s okay. It’s not. Like Vince Lombardi said, “Act like you’ve been there before.” Otherwise … Gremlin!

Enough of that. Not a lot of poker playing in my travels lately, but there were two events that I wanted to share with you:

Bay 101 Casino
San Jose

I made it for the first two days of the Shooting Star Tournament at the Bay 101 and, like every year, it was a zoo in the best possible way. If you’ve never been you should go just to check out the scene. I don’t recommend going to watch them play (unless you happen to live nearby), because before long it’s like watching paint dry, unless you have a big rooting interest.

What’s fun about it is watching the top pros interact with each other and the fans. Certain players get swarmed like rock stars as they try to enter the building. The cool ones stop and sign for everyone with smiles on their faces. Others are not quite so accommodating. It can be surprising which ones are which.

Cordova Casino
Rancho Cordova

The Cordova Restaurant Casino had their Grand Opening on March 12 and it truly was an extravaganza. Gorgeous is the word that comes to mind when describing the place and that night they went all out with a steady stream of free hors d’oeuvres and beverages, photos with showgirls, and a big cash giveaway.

Thirty times from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. they drew names and gave the lucky winners $500. Then, just for fun, they would deal the winner two cards and if they got a blackjack it would be ­doubled to $1,000. Then, at 10:00 p.m. they had a Grand Prize drawing for $10,000. Not bad for some lucky winner who dropped by to check out the new casino in town.

I spent the evening eating, drinking and chatting—and waiting to get into one of the no-limit games they had going. But with half the county there hoping for free money the list was a mile long (although most of us didn’t care). Once the big prize was given away though, the event was officially over and the list got shorter in a hurry. By 10:30 I had a seat and at least managed to make a few dollars in the hour or so I had before heading home after a great night.