NorCal Poker Ambassador
Stacking chips: As fun as fun gets
By Randall Rapp

What is it about stacking chips that’s just so doggone fun? Sure, it has to do with money and just plain good old fashioned winning, but it feels like there’s more to it than that. Few life experiences compare to reaching out and pulling a mountain of chips in and then stacking them into powerful stacks right in front of you.

Maybe my priorities are all screwed up (it’s been said before), but I would have to rank top life experiences as follows:

1. Birth of children.

2. Wedding day.

3. Stacking chips.

I suppose arguments could be made for things like virginity lost or graduation days, but right now all I keep thinking about is that big scoop.

Live dealers are great, and holding actual cards in your hand is nice too, but in my opinion the biggest thing that kept electronic tables from taking over the poker world is that you don’t get to stack chips. Without them it can never be the same.

Your humble Ambassador has made some special trips here and there over the past couple of months, so let’s get to it.

Cordova Casino
Rancho Cordova

I recently had the privilege of being on site during the Park West NorCal Classic Tournament at the Cordova Casino. Despite all the action going on around me with players in their extremely nice team jerseys, I still found a seat in a $1/2 no-limit game. My opponents were some of their regular cash game players along with a few vanquished tournament contestants.

While keeping an eye on the tournament’s progression, I steadily built a nice little stack to keep me going while waiting for the big event’s conclusion. Unfortunately, as is often the case in no-limit Hold’em, it only takes one or two mistakes or bad outcomes to bring the stacks tumbling down. When the tournament finished I had to mark this one down in the loss column, but had a great time, excellent food, and a wonderful experience with the staff and players from various Park West casinos.

FLB Sports Bar & Casino
Folsom

A few weeks later I had the good fortune to be in Folsom with a few hours to kill waiting out traffic before heading home. What better place to do that than the FLB Sports Bar & Casino?

I got a seat right away in their $1/3 no-limit game and got right to work accumulating chips. It seemed to be one of those special days when even one’s big-time donkey plays turn out right. I was invincible. I couldn’t lose. I had so many chips I thought the table might tip over on top of me.

You can probably guess how this turns out. After a while the proverbial worm turned and suddenly even one’s brilliant decisions all turn out wrong. Pocket aces get cracked and draws never get there or turn out second best.

The good news is I still made off with a hefty (if somewhat diminished) profit, consumed an extremely tasty pizza (no beer—gotta drive), and thoroughly enjoyed myself with the patrons and their super-friendly dealers and floor staff.

Oaks Card Club
Emeryville

On our way up to the special POY tournament in Petaluma, Mrs. A and I stopped for a few hours at the Oaks as it had been a while since I had played there. While Mrs. A went adventuring at IKEA and other Emeryville shops, I was off to play in their $1/2 spread-limit game.

Despite it being spread-limit ($200 max bet) it played pretty much like a no-limit game with comparable blinds. I started off fairly well, despite the usual ups and downs, but pretty soon it became apparent that this session might not be one of my best. I fought it off as best I could, taking solace in a very appetizing tri-tip sandwich with some of the best fries of all time.

Soon, however I had to come to grips with the fact that moving on might be my best option, so Mrs. A and I continued on our drive north. One of these days soon I need to come back and try again, maybe taking advantage of the many other games they spread, like Seven-Card Stud, Lowball, Draw, and Pan (please, someone give me a short, understandable description of how this game works).

The 101 Casino
Petaluma

We arrived in Petaluma the night before the POY tournament so we had plenty of time to spend exploring the town. Some of the key spots we went to that all deserve mention: Dempsey’s Brewery, Keller Estate Winery, Sonoma Valley Portworks, Three Cooks Café, and the Lagunitas Brewery. All featured excellent food, beverages, and ambiance.

Of course we also had an excellent meal at The 101 Casino’s City Limits Bar & Grill which features great menu items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The poker turned out pretty darn good to as I made up for earlier losses at the Oaks while playing in The 101’s $4/8 limit game the first night. Then, after my tournament ended all too abruptly, I was killing the $1/3 no-limit game all afternoon, followed by a more than respectable showing after dinner playing $3/6.

It was a memorable trip and Petaluma proved it has a lot to offer. As always, The 101 Casino showed it is a great place to play, eat, and have a good time.