Hak at the Taj - Drug solicitations, Selling the rock, and drawing dead with AA: An AC Trip Report

Hey all,

I was working from AC for a few days this week, and got some time to play poker. Nothing of much interest happened. Except the following:

1) Three separate people @ the Taj asked me, "Do you have any rolling papers?". It was only after the second time I was asked that I found out this is slang for, "Do you want to buy some weed?". I guess the fact that I'm no longer hip to drug lingo is a surefire sign that I am, indeed, an old man.

2) We played 20/40 at the Taj for about 4 hours with two rocks. No, I don't mean two nitty old men...they were all sitting in the 10 game. For those who don't know the term, a "rock" is ostensibly designed to loosen up a tightish game. If everybody agrees to play w/ the rock, you take two big blinds out of a pot (like time from a time pot) and wrap them up in a rubber band. The winner of the pot now owns the rock, and has to put it up as a blind raise next time they're UTG. The next winner of the pot with rock posted now owns rock, and they're obliged to post it next time they're UTG...and so on (i.e. the rock stays in play, and just gets passed between winners of pots). Playing with two rocks is exactly the same, except you end up with twice as many blind raises.

So, on selling the rock...what's the right price to take if somebody offers to buy the rock from you? The generally consensus at the table is that it's worth about $25 (1.25 Big Blinds) in equity...

3) Some youngish guy playing the 20 game yesterday was there with his mom. She was really out-going and, honestly, really nice. She offered to buy the whole table pizza, and the young guy, obv embarrassed, kind of yells at her that everybody will get their own food. She ignores him, shows up with a large pizza anyways, and is actively recruiting people in the poker room to have a slice or two. Anyhow, it was odd, but refreshing, to see a genuinely nice person in an environment where such folks are rare.

4) I don't usually post hands in trip reports, but this one was crazy enough to write about. 20 must move game @ Taj.

I raise AA UTG and get 5 callers.

Flop comes 7 T J rainbow. I open and it comes back to me capped!! I call 3 in the face praying my 2-outer will actually be good.

Turn bricks off. I check, it comes back to me for 2 or 3 bets (can't remember exactly), and I fold.

River bricks and checks through. 4 people showdown the following hands:

77 (Flopped set of sevens)
TT (Flopped set of tens)
JJ (Flopped set of jacks)
QK (Flopped open-ended straight draw)

So I would have needed to go perfect/perfect to make quads for my aces to be good on that flop FWIW, this is the first time I've ever seen set over set over set...live poker is rigged.

5) Found out that the Taj comps $3/hour for playing 20/40

6) A 40 hold-em game got started @ Taj yesterday evening just as I was leaving

That's it. Thanks for reading.