Guys just had to share my good fortune today...
6:45am, driving down to Toronto to work, had a real casino itch that needed to be scratched so I blew off work and kept driving down to Niagara.
It's weird, usually when I decide to hit a casino I drive up to Rama, there is an indian reservation Casino north of Toronto that has a crazy poker room and decent blackjack tables. But this time I decided to go south even though it is that much further away from me... Got down to Niagara - there are two casinos in the area, Fallsview which I find much nicer and is usually where I end up - and Casino Niagara which is more slots although they have a 'sportsbook' (notice the quotes, not worth betting there usually) and poker.
Anyway, got some breakfast in me and played some tables... not much happening just kinda floating around even for the day until I hit the Mississippi Stud table.
Now I'm not a big roller by any means and this was a $5 table so I was fine. I had a little over $200 that I brought in from a blackjack table - I bought in for 2 bills so no real profit.
Two other players at the table and I'm right in the middle. Guy to the right of me is fine, normal guy just grinding out between $5-$20 hands just like me. Guy to the left of me is a five star degen. I mean all the stereotypes - Wild, wild fluctuations in betting. Chases every hand. Fist slamming table guy. Drops F-bombs like a gangsta rapper....
So we finish a hand. The dealer turns a card on fifth street that helps me and the other quiet guy to get a push. Of course, wild Bill to the left of me folded (for like the first time in an hour!) ... So the house is handing this guy his a$$ so bad, he decides to leave and hit up a three card poker table next to us. Except they just started another hand so he comes running back and gets in to the next stud hand and this is where the magic happens.
I get dealt a pocket pair, but they are 4's - for those of you that are unaware how the game works, it's a 5 game poker hand. You get dealt two and the dealer has the other 3 as community cards, turned up one at a time. You need to match your bet to stay in and if you have something you like you can triple up your bet on all 3 of the streets.
So anyway, back to my baby pair. Pretty simple decision for me to chase, if the board pairs I can still hit 2 to 1 and if I am lucky enough to catch another 4 then that's 3 times my bet.
Yes. I'm lucky enough. Hit a 4 on third street so I triple up my bets on fourth and fifth street.
It gets better, of course, as I hit the final 4 in the deck on 4th street. 4 of a kind pays 40-1, boys and girls, and that on what ended up being a $40 bet = $1600!!! ($5 ante, $5 third street, $15 fourth, $15 fifth)
Buddy to the left of me goes absolutely ballistic and storms off!!! It has been a long long time since I've heard that kind of language by anyone in a casino.
And only after I had calmed down and seen all of these black chips being passed my way did it occur to me that I owe it all to crazy guy. If he didn't come back, my pocket 4's would be the same, but the next pair of 4's would be 2 cards further back in the deck.... and that would not be such a good story now would it?
So wherever you are, wild crazy guy, I salute you...
P.S. to all my fellow Canadians? Aren't those new $100's something? I mean real smooth... especially when you get 16 of them to rub together!
Like I said, I'm not a big roller so this is a big, big score for me!
6:45am, driving down to Toronto to work, had a real casino itch that needed to be scratched so I blew off work and kept driving down to Niagara.
It's weird, usually when I decide to hit a casino I drive up to Rama, there is an indian reservation Casino north of Toronto that has a crazy poker room and decent blackjack tables. But this time I decided to go south even though it is that much further away from me... Got down to Niagara - there are two casinos in the area, Fallsview which I find much nicer and is usually where I end up - and Casino Niagara which is more slots although they have a 'sportsbook' (notice the quotes, not worth betting there usually) and poker.
Anyway, got some breakfast in me and played some tables... not much happening just kinda floating around even for the day until I hit the Mississippi Stud table.
Now I'm not a big roller by any means and this was a $5 table so I was fine. I had a little over $200 that I brought in from a blackjack table - I bought in for 2 bills so no real profit.
Two other players at the table and I'm right in the middle. Guy to the right of me is fine, normal guy just grinding out between $5-$20 hands just like me. Guy to the left of me is a five star degen. I mean all the stereotypes - Wild, wild fluctuations in betting. Chases every hand. Fist slamming table guy. Drops F-bombs like a gangsta rapper....
So we finish a hand. The dealer turns a card on fifth street that helps me and the other quiet guy to get a push. Of course, wild Bill to the left of me folded (for like the first time in an hour!) ... So the house is handing this guy his a$$ so bad, he decides to leave and hit up a three card poker table next to us. Except they just started another hand so he comes running back and gets in to the next stud hand and this is where the magic happens.
I get dealt a pocket pair, but they are 4's - for those of you that are unaware how the game works, it's a 5 game poker hand. You get dealt two and the dealer has the other 3 as community cards, turned up one at a time. You need to match your bet to stay in and if you have something you like you can triple up your bet on all 3 of the streets.
So anyway, back to my baby pair. Pretty simple decision for me to chase, if the board pairs I can still hit 2 to 1 and if I am lucky enough to catch another 4 then that's 3 times my bet.
Yes. I'm lucky enough. Hit a 4 on third street so I triple up my bets on fourth and fifth street.
It gets better, of course, as I hit the final 4 in the deck on 4th street. 4 of a kind pays 40-1, boys and girls, and that on what ended up being a $40 bet = $1600!!! ($5 ante, $5 third street, $15 fourth, $15 fifth)
Buddy to the left of me goes absolutely ballistic and storms off!!! It has been a long long time since I've heard that kind of language by anyone in a casino.
And only after I had calmed down and seen all of these black chips being passed my way did it occur to me that I owe it all to crazy guy. If he didn't come back, my pocket 4's would be the same, but the next pair of 4's would be 2 cards further back in the deck.... and that would not be such a good story now would it?
So wherever you are, wild crazy guy, I salute you...
P.S. to all my fellow Canadians? Aren't those new $100's something? I mean real smooth... especially when you get 16 of them to rub together!
Like I said, I'm not a big roller so this is a big, big score for me!
