Amarillo

Posted by amarillosb

March 10, 2008

I was in my hometown of Amarillo, Texas for the past two weeks. I thought I was going to be too busy to play any cards, but my flight back to Chicago was cancelled because of a snowstorm in Dallas (believe it or not). Instead of flying back that night, I played 2/5 mixed no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha hi/lo with some very nice Texas gentlemen.

I knew I’d found a safe joint when I met a dentist and a local politician at the table. The game also had excellent barbeque (any place with good food is a-okay in my book). The only underground place I’ve played at that got robbed just had a couple bags of Doritos in the cabinets. It may seem like a random theory, but having a stocked fridge and good food on hand means permanency, and permanency makes me feel safer about bringing in wads of cash.

Online is the only place I’ve even heard of pot-limit Omaha hi/lo being spread. One guy in the game was from Cincinnati, and he said that he’d never seen it live either, but caught a plane to Amarillo as soon as he heard there was some action. They play it everyday at this place in Amarillo and then add in the hold’em round at night to accommodate the recreational gamblers.

In most Omaha hi/lo games, I tend to keep it simple, since you can show a profit by simply being one of the tightest players in the game. More so in limit hi/lo, but I was playing a little loose in the hold’em round, which got me some action in Omaha. Thankfully, I also avoided getting quartered and found a couple spots to bluff when no low came in. I was just about to walk out the door at 3:30 am to catch my 5 am flight, when one guy said, “Have you noticed that every time she’s in the pot, she scoops it?”

I left the game with a mound full of egregious, yet fascinating, stories about Amarillo Slim, a handful of great Texas sayings, and two more buy-ins than I had when I walked in. I also got to play a little gin while I was waiting for a seat, which I love to play. My mom has relentlessly beat me at gin since I was five, and I think she’s caused such a huge psychological complex in me that I don’t know if I’ll ever be a winning player, but I still jump at any chance to play.

All in all, the night was a highlight of my trip, and I owe it all to the snow in Dallas. Here are a few of my favorite good ol’ boy sayings from the evening…

One player about another: “Now he’s about as sharp as a bowling ball.”

“If this game don’t end before Easter, tell momma to go on and hide the eggs.”

About one of the player’s ex-girlfriend: “That woman was as ugly as Calvin Coolidge, and he looked like he was weaned on a pickle.”

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