Mirage
I'm not going to lie. My mouth waters a bit when I head to a casino. Not figuratively either. Literally, my lips moisten. And don't get all worked up and call Bets Off. I can count on 1 hand the number times I've been to the casino in the past 12 months. Anyway, point being, I get a little rush when I see the "Live Poker" sign as I drive up to my local card club.
See, I've been 100% average at most things in my life. Sports, always made the B team. Never the A, never the C. In Band, I was always 4th chair in a section of 8. School, same thing, about a 3.0 average through high school. Heck, I weigh 185 pounds. Check the US census averages and I bet that's within 5% of the 50th percentile.
So when I found poker a few years ago, it was weird to think of myself as above average at it. I took to the game instantly and played pretty seriously for at least a couple years and actually studied the game. I had software that would track my play (when I played online) so I could go back and find mistakes later. I read forums discussing theory. In the end, I became a somewhat successful player at a specific kind of poker: limit holdem. And that was new experience for me.
That's part of why I get a rush walking through the card room doors. When sit at a table full of strangers, I feel like I can beat them. Never before in my life have I felt that. When I play poker with friends, it's fun and games. When I go to the casino, it's me competing seriously maybe for the first time in my life. I've always subscribed to the philosophy of competition that if you don't invest yourself, you don't really care if you lose. Somewhere, I invested myself in the game of poker, which brought out competitive impulses that were foreign to me.
Anyway, I explain this as a set up to the real reason of this post, I went to Vegas last week on a work trip. And yes, I did actually do alot of work. But my nights were free and the first night I was there, I went straight to Binion's Horseshoe.
If you aren't knowledgeable in the world of poker, let me explain. Binion's is basically where it all began. It was the casino that took poker from back rooms and made it into the World Series of Poker that you see on ESPN today. All of the major happenings took place there from 1970 to 2005. Basically, it's the Fenway Park, CBGB's, Mecca, etc for poker.
So with glee I headed away from the strip and towards the old downtown district of Vegas where Binion's was. I almost bounced through the front door anxious to play on the hallowed grounds. I traveled back to the back of the casino and asked the Poker desk for a seat on one of the tables.
My heart instantly drooped the second I sat down. Nowhere was the glory and history that I'd seen on TV. In it's place was the most depressing and dingy poker room I've ever seen. The table had stains on top of old stains. It was light enough to see the room, but dark enough to hide the shame. My opponents: all 65 year old grinders who hadn't smiled in about 5 years and were just waiting for the next bad card to come out so they could complain about it. I looked to my right and the guy next to me had the largest bulbous nose I'd ever seen. The dealer was a dead ringer to the guy in Sling Blade, right down to the underbite and weird "Umm hmmm" noises. I played for about an hour and left shell shocked. My Mecca was a shithole. I felt slapped in the face.
Looking back, I realize I like it better that Binion's is a dump. At the core, poker is a game of gambling (albeit a game of skill rather than luck), which spawned from the underbelly of society. It's only 40-50 years removed from having to carry (and use) a gun to protect your winnings. ESPN can glamorize it all they want, but that won't erase the roots of the game. Binion's reflects this.
Incidentally, the trip to Vegas did also let me know that the last couple of years of not playing seriously has slid me right back to average as a player. Something I'm 100% comfortable with.
See, I've been 100% average at most things in my life. Sports, always made the B team. Never the A, never the C. In Band, I was always 4th chair in a section of 8. School, same thing, about a 3.0 average through high school. Heck, I weigh 185 pounds. Check the US census averages and I bet that's within 5% of the 50th percentile.
So when I found poker a few years ago, it was weird to think of myself as above average at it. I took to the game instantly and played pretty seriously for at least a couple years and actually studied the game. I had software that would track my play (when I played online) so I could go back and find mistakes later. I read forums discussing theory. In the end, I became a somewhat successful player at a specific kind of poker: limit holdem. And that was new experience for me.
That's part of why I get a rush walking through the card room doors. When sit at a table full of strangers, I feel like I can beat them. Never before in my life have I felt that. When I play poker with friends, it's fun and games. When I go to the casino, it's me competing seriously maybe for the first time in my life. I've always subscribed to the philosophy of competition that if you don't invest yourself, you don't really care if you lose. Somewhere, I invested myself in the game of poker, which brought out competitive impulses that were foreign to me.
Anyway, I explain this as a set up to the real reason of this post, I went to Vegas last week on a work trip. And yes, I did actually do alot of work. But my nights were free and the first night I was there, I went straight to Binion's Horseshoe.
If you aren't knowledgeable in the world of poker, let me explain. Binion's is basically where it all began. It was the casino that took poker from back rooms and made it into the World Series of Poker that you see on ESPN today. All of the major happenings took place there from 1970 to 2005. Basically, it's the Fenway Park, CBGB's, Mecca, etc for poker.
So with glee I headed away from the strip and towards the old downtown district of Vegas where Binion's was. I almost bounced through the front door anxious to play on the hallowed grounds. I traveled back to the back of the casino and asked the Poker desk for a seat on one of the tables.
My heart instantly drooped the second I sat down. Nowhere was the glory and history that I'd seen on TV. In it's place was the most depressing and dingy poker room I've ever seen. The table had stains on top of old stains. It was light enough to see the room, but dark enough to hide the shame. My opponents: all 65 year old grinders who hadn't smiled in about 5 years and were just waiting for the next bad card to come out so they could complain about it. I looked to my right and the guy next to me had the largest bulbous nose I'd ever seen. The dealer was a dead ringer to the guy in Sling Blade, right down to the underbite and weird "Umm hmmm" noises. I played for about an hour and left shell shocked. My Mecca was a shithole. I felt slapped in the face.
Looking back, I realize I like it better that Binion's is a dump. At the core, poker is a game of gambling (albeit a game of skill rather than luck), which spawned from the underbelly of society. It's only 40-50 years removed from having to carry (and use) a gun to protect your winnings. ESPN can glamorize it all they want, but that won't erase the roots of the game. Binion's reflects this.
Incidentally, the trip to Vegas did also let me know that the last couple of years of not playing seriously has slid me right back to average as a player. Something I'm 100% comfortable with.
posted by Roark_8 at 9:31 AM
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