Biggest Pot to Date

I was noticeably more comfortable dealing last night, I am starting to find a rhythm now. I started in event #2, a $500 preliminary tourney that started with over 600 players and was on dinner break when I came in. After a couple of downs, I pushed through the 7pm second chance tournament. Here at the Gold Strike, we are pushing through numerically, unless you are in satellites. So, typically you get 2-3 cash game downs, a break, 3-4 tourney downs, a break, then back to cash, unless you are assigned to satellites or end up in one of the overflow rooms, or the main casino poker room, which is all low buy-in cash games. I dealt a couple of $2-5 Pot Limit Omaha games, a fun $50-100 Stud game, back into event #2 tourney for a couple of downs, another $2-5 PLO game, and then I pushed into a big game.

It was $25-25 PLO, with a mandatory $50 Mississippi straddle on the button. The game was fast and loose, I saw several showdowns with very marginal holdings in pots which were raised pre-flop. There was some very aggressive betting, and a couple of guys that played every hand to any raise. I saw several bundles of $5k hundred dollar bill stacks, and several bigger denom chips at each seat, but I didn't really take note of how much was on the table. I had a PLO rhythm going, and I just wanted to get the hands out. About half way into the down, we had a hand with two pot bets before the flop that narrowed the field to a loose player in the 5 seat and a gentlemen on my right that seemed ready for a battle and wasn't going to back down. I expected to see lots of aces and kings and big cards in at least his hand at showdown. The flop came out Ks 6s 3d and the betting action went pot, re-pot, all-in for $19k more, insta-call. When these guys make the big bets, they count out $100 bills so fast, its hard to keep up with them, and a little amazing how little value the money seems to have. I was happy with myself for keeping up with the pot-size, but I did need a little help just before the all-in countdown. Of course, I still didn't know for sure what they were holding, but with a flop like that, I didn't see much beyond the flush draw. When the Ts hit the turn, the guy on my right flew out of his seat. I assumed he didn't want to see the flush, but it actually turned out that it made his hand. The river brought a 6c, and of course loose guy in the five seat had top two and filled up. This happens a lot in Omaha, but I'd never seen it at these stakes before. Very, very sick action. Neither player had better than two pair, and the tighter one was on the nut flush draw when more than $50,000.00 went into the pot. He made his flush on the turn, then lost to a 4-out suckout on the river. Nasty.

After a $2-5 NL Holdem down, I pushed into a $5-10 NL Holdem game where I had to endure at least a 10 minute wait before someone finally called a clock. This really cuts into a dealers tips. I know they are playing for real money, and I would never try to push a player into a decision myself, but once in awhile I wish the player who was really holding up play would acknowledge that fact and toss me a toke. I pledge to do so if I ever really hold up a game.