News from Manitoba's Felts

The big tournaments were last week, so there is usually a hangover effect for the week after, however, not this week.  Poker marches on. 

Poker wasn't the only thing making news this week in Manitoba.  We had a provincial election.  I happened to attend an event after the results were announced and ran into a poker player.  He had recently been at a table where the bad beat was won.  He won over three grand just for being dealt in to the hand.  I thought we would talk about the election, but no.  He noted that when the bad beat was won, they took a picture of the table but they could not post the picture because of the election.  Something to do with a government corporation advertising.  The first thing he told me was that now that the election was over, he was going to go down there the next morning to make sure that picture was up.  A provincial government affects a great deal of every aspect of our daily lives, yet all he was concerned about was seeing his picture for the great accomplishment of occupying a seat. 

The big news is that $10 poker will no longer be happening at Assiniboine Downs on Fridays and Saturday nights.  The amazing women that ran this event did so for over 10 years with little time off.  Every weekend for 10 years with the odd weekend off.  Yikes.  They took this summer off and decided they enjoyed being more or less "normal" people and not working 7 days a week.  Yes, they are both professional women with full-time jobs.  This was their "side" gig.  Gig is being much too generous.  Massive headache would be more accurate.  My partner and I started attending over a year ago.  At first, we enjoyed the cheap night out.  Very quickly, I started to dislike it.  $10 poker was bingo poker and it didn't help my game improve.  Plus, the amount of drama kept increasing.  Players being disrespectful to one other, the dealers, and the women running the show.  Security had to be close or was called to intervene almost every evening.  If it wasn't so tense, it would have been hilarious.  I really don't understand the sense of entitlement that many players have.  I am no constitutional lawyer, but I don't believe that playing poker is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  They complain about everything.  Don't get that.  No one is forcing you to play.  If you don't like the game, then don't come.   So, I loved "the girls" but didn't like the game.  I was forced to go, though.  My partner "made" me go because he wanted to support "the girls".  Regardless, I am happy that they made the best decision for them.  In the end, my partner and I discussed this and we will miss two of the regular dealers and two players.  We won't miss "the girls" because they will always be part of our lives as they have become good friends.  The same people that created drama are the ones who are complaining because it has been cancelled.  Maybe, it can be an opportunity to reflect on how one's actions affect others. 

The Casino tournaments on Tuesday and Thursday will now be subject to inflation.  The buy-in has been increased.  It likely won't affect anything, but, will make for conversation starters when the tournaments resume next week.  It will give us something to complain about which poker players love. 

I don't have many opportunities to play cash anymore but was able to play yesterday.  It was a nice afternoon but every time a new player comes to the table, the personality of the table seems to change.  Yesterday, it was the opportunity to badmouth players who weren't there for the first hour.  Then, it went to the amount of rake and how poorly the room is managed.  I've heard both those soundtracks many times before and can almost recite them word for word.  Again, if the game is run so poorly, who is forcing you to play?  It is not mandatory to play poker.  Then, one of my least favorite players arrived.  He just sucks the air out of the room with his negativity and his strong smell of smoke.  I decided to stay for a little while to see if he would do my current pet peeve.  He didn't disappoint.  He ordered food which contained a salad.  The salad was not made to his standards and he berated the server.  She didn't make the salad.  She doesn't deserve to be treated badly.  This is the second time I have seen him go off on a server about a salad.  It doesn't just affect the server, it affects the atmosphere at the table.  I left because of him and I am sure the other players didn't want to see me leave because they didn't get the opportunity to take my money.  Later that evening, I went out to a pricier restaurant than the one at the poker room.  I ordered a steak which was a little overdone.  I politely pointed this out to the server who offered to make it right.  I indicated that I was just passing on feedback and it wasn't a big deal and I would still enjoy my steak.  And, I did.  There are many fabulous respectful poker players, and then those that have this attitude of entitlement.  I really think that if you find fault in how your tomatoes are cut in your salad, you are the kind of person that won't be missed if you decide to opt out of playing.  And, here is my broken record.  The casino needs to be more vigilant in ensuring an enjoyable experience for all players.  No one is saying you can't complain about your food, but you should be expected to do it respectfully.