Poker for fun

haven’t had a chance to write since i came back from vegas, so here i am! i spent the weekend doing (pretty much) nothing but playing poker, which is always a nice way to sit around for a few days. mostly i played no limit (cash and tournament) with some interesting hands, but probably the most intriguing hours spent were in a 10-20 mixed game (HORSE + omaha high) at the venetian. why was it interesting? well, first of all, i was the youngest player at the table by, oh, about 20 years (which, by the way, is pretty standard when you sit at these low-limit mixed games).

but as i sat there playing for about an hour, i started to figure out the actual reason the game was so interesting. i got an inkling of it early on, when i found out the rake was only $1 max. why only a buck? well, as i proceeded to get smoked in several of the games, i realized that i wasn’t playing against some random old people. the lady in seat 3 was actually linda johnson, one of the only women to ever win a WSOP bracelet (razz, 1997). another player at the table was jan fisher, who is a pretty well-known player. it turns out that they and their friends had come up with a deal with the venetian.

it was a fun game (old people know some dirty jokes) and i’m glad to have enjoyed it for an afternoon. it also reminded me of how purely fun poker can be. usually i come back from vegas thinking about either packing up and moving there for a while or swearing off the game forever. but playing in that game reminded me that there’s a middle ground of “just plain fun”.