Rockin' the Par-A-Dice

 

 

I had been a tad jealous of my friends who were in Las Vegas, playing poker, mashing buttons, betting on sports and generally having a great time. Here I was, however, in central Illinois. What to do?

 

Yesterday, the answer to that question became very clear. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law were using my house as a base for their travel to visit relatives and friends in the area. But ... they were leaving on the next leg of their trip. My youngest daughter was getting ready to go to her weekly Sunday gathering with friends. My wife was going with a friend to visit someone in a nursing home. That left this guy all alone with nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon. When all else fails ... head to the nearest poker room!

 

I hopped in my car and headed to the Par-A-Dice riverboat casino in East Peoria, IL. Two shorthanded tables were running so I was seated immediately. It's tough making good money when playing $1/2 NL with only a few people at the table. Eventually more players came in, however, and I won a big pot when I hit a set of Queens on a flop with two hearts showing. A villain raised and I made a huge re-raise. He went all in (only about $17 more) and, of course, I called. The turn was a heart and he turned over his cards to show that he had the nut flush draw and hit it. However, the river paired the board and I announced "I have a boat" and turned over my pocket Queens. Cha-ching!

 

The table was eventually shut down to be used for a tournament, and I cashed out a nice profit. I was then on a wait list to be seated at the only cash table going, so I played a little video poker, but my favorite machine just wasn't hitting. I headed down to a different level to play my favorite slot, the Willy Wonka machine. A minimal investment and I was on my way. Shortly into the session, the Oompa Loompa bonus gave me this:

 

Sweet!

 

I stayed on that Wonka Machine and then hit a bonus that looked to just be decent ... until it was multiplied 10 times!

 

Doubly sweet!

 

My name was called on the intercom as a player left the cash game, opening up a seat for me. What to do? The decision was easy ... stay on Wonka!

 

Wonka stopped giving shortly thereafter, so I played a few other slots. Blogger friend cokeboy99 texted that he was able to come to the poker room, so I headed upstairs and got seated at one of the two cash games running. I was in the big blind the second hand at the table and looked down to see the dreaded pocket Kings - two black ones! Most of the table had limped in, so I bumped it up to $22, not knowing anything about the table. One guy called. The flop: three diamonds, Queen high. I checked, he bet $20, and I bumped it up to $50. I was pretty sure I was still ahead. He called. The turn was about the worst card imaginable: the Ace of diamonds. I checked and he went all in. I was pretty sure he had at least one high diamond (confirmed by the guy next to me who spied the cards before the villain mucked) or, at the least, had a big Ace. I grumbled and folded.

 

I reloaded and soon got into another big hand when I flopped a set of Queens (the ladies were with me that night!) and saw a flop that included  two spades and a King. I bet out $30 (about a pot-sized bet and was raised by one villain. Another one called, so I pushed all in. Both guys called. One had the nut flush draw, the other likely had some type of straight draw. Thankfully, the turn and river helped no one, and I scooped a huge pot.

 

cokeboy99 soon checked in and we played at the same table for several hours. Eventually I had to think about the long drive home, and when I left both cokeboy99 and I both had a nice profit.

 

Two winning poker sessions and a winning slot session in an unexpected trip to the casino. Sometimes things just work out right.