Day Three

The euros are here. I mean the euros, not the Euros. Not the ones players seem to fear so absurdly.

Lots of goofy continental play at my latest 2/5 game. What stood out, however, was a moment of gamesmanship among them (or possibly extreme self-delusion) that turned into a ten-minute delay.

In an already slow game, the table mark had led into the preflop raiser on an ace high, turned three-flush. It was a foolishly sized bet leaving about three-fifty effective after betting three hundred. The preflop raiser, another continental on a positively Gallic table, now shoved. While I didn’t necessarily buy the flush story, bluffing here clearly made no sense versus the donk-betting whale, who basically played all hands and cold called massive raises in his gambling enthusiasm.

Facing the raise, our mid-Atlantic baleine babbled to himself and the table, ultimately cutting out some of the bet in front of him, then asking the dealer if that was the right amount. While the dealer was distracted and engaged in conversation during some of this ordeal, she was paying attention at this moment and pointed out that the call was basically another fifty. Given this bad news, the donk better decided to throw his hand away, tossing the two cards lightly and over the partially assembled wager.

At this point, the raising Frenchman argued that his fellow traveler had in fact called when he cut out the chips. He indicated to the dealer that the donk bettor’s chips were over the line and in the communal area. This was not true, however, and no one agreed with him. Somewhat defeated, he then took the second tack of saying that there was no line at the Wynn. Of course, there is a line; what he meant was that the line was not a concrete part of the betting rules.

A floor and then a camera review later, the fold stood. The raiser continued to argue until the staff indicated he would be tossed out if he argued further.

Firstly, this was a good ruling. That itself is not particularly interesting. What got my attention was how obviously the raiser was trying to get the extra bet from his fishy opponent. It was not only out of line, but completely short sighted. The mark can just leave or be mad or have an animus against someone who tries to use a sketchy version of the rules for what he wants.

Silly stuff, but everything makes sense in the end. These are the real euros, the near-retired union members of a beleaguered economic powerhouse few in the blinkered U.S. understand. Suspicious of power, suspicious of each other. Raised on pride, a noble defiance comes easy but selfishness does, too.

As for myself, another minor result. I am dealt out for the most part. In one rare opportunity, I fold bottom pair incorrectly multiway, costing myself a nice pot. What was the tactical mistake? Underestimating just how wide the euros were playing: I had been up against K6o and 93.

+295