I sat down for a little 1-3 No Limit poker at the Wynn. Beautiful poker room. Definitely built for the better clientele. The chairs were very comfortable. The tables had wonderful felt on them. Automatic shufflers were at all tables. My good friend BT and I sat in for a couple of hours of poker.We had a couple of characters at our table, but the one that out-shined them all was a guy they all called 'Cowboy'. He wore brown leather boots. He had a brown leather belt with a big old belt buckle with a large depiction of Texas. He wore classic blue jeans. He had on a long sleeved button up cowboy shirt with a large cowboy hat and a scarf tied around his neck. This guy couldn't have been more cowboy if the Marlboro man himself sat down at our table.
He was a gambler at heart. He loved to talk up the game as he was playing. He'd raise with almost anything. He even raised with a flourish by firing the chips up in the air. While everyone else bought into the game for around $150, Cowboy bought in for $500. Total intimidation was his game and if you came into a hand against him, you better be ready for a re-raise of your bet. You knew you were in big trouble when he reached for his chips and said his favorite phrase......"Cowboy up, I'm all in!". I had the unfortunate opportunity to hear that phrase twice.
The first time, I had Ace-Queen. The blinds were 1 and 3 dollars. I was the small blind and Cowboy was the big blind. I raised to $10 total, hoping to steal Cowboy's big blind. Cowboy looked at me and said, "Are you trying to steal my money? Cowboy up, I'm all in!"
My heart sunk. What was he pulling on me? He had played all kinds of hands over the first hour or so. But Cowboy knew that I was a tight player, so he must have a decent hand in order to make that kind of a move. I looked at Cowboy and he was just smiling from ear to ear. He sensed my frustration and knew that I probably had something. He asked me if I had an Ace. I said I did. He said 'uh oh'. He then asked me what my kicker was (i.e. what the other card was). I said a Queen and watched his face. He then told me that I should probably fold. Normally he lied, but I just felt he had AK or a poker pair. I wasn't willing to risk all my chips ($145 or so) against either AK or a pocket pair. I told him I had to lay it down. I flipped over my AQ and he said "Good fold" and flipped over his cards. He had......AQ. I smiled and pat him on the back and told him "Good hand".
Not long after that, I raised to $12 total with two tens. Cowboy and one other player called. The flop came 7-7-3. The other guy checked and I bet another $12 since my pair was higher than anything on the board. Of course, I immediately heard behind me, "Cowboy up, I'm all in!"
This is normally an easy call for me, but Cowboy had changed his play over the past hour. He was being more selective in the hands he played. I went into a shell again. I had to start talking with Cowboy again. I said I couldn't believe I was in this position again. I said aloud that I had an overpair (meaning I had at least a pair of 8's in my hand). Surprisingly, he said he also had a pocket pair. I actually believed him. He also said that he hoped I didn't have Jacks. Hmmmm......what does that mean?
If he has 88 or 99, I'm a 4.5:1 favorite the rest of the way. On the other hand, he may think I have Jacks, which in that case he may be trying to bait me in to call because he has AA, KK, QQ or he may have a 7 in his hand and have 3 7's. In any of those cases, I'm a 4.5:1 underdog at best and even worse off against 3 7's. I decide that although he may have 88 or 99, the chances of him having a good hand in the latter set of hands are very possible. I decide to fold and ask him if he'll show if I show my hand. He says 'sure' and I flip over my tens. He flips over......99. I would have been a monster favorite, but I don't feel terrible about my fold. I considered my options and made a choice and it just didn't work out. That's poker. I pat him on the back again with a smile and congratulated him again. He thanked me and smiled back.
I got to talk with him more over the rest of the time at the table. I asked him if he had family. He said he did. He said he lived near the Rio and his wife lived near the Stardust casino. I was about to switch topics, hoping to avoid any divorce/separation conversations when he continued on. He said that his first mistress lives in Henderson, NV and his second mistress lived near Green Valley Ranch. I immediately began to laugh (I have a feeling he usually gets that reaction after disclosing that fact) and I said it sounded like he was a busy man. He just smiled and said, "A cowboy's work is never done."
I also found out that Cowboy has a occupation other than poker player. Evidently, Cowboy is also a sports bookie on the side. He had a sheet listing the odds for the games that day. His phone was ringing off the hook. At one point, someone called and I remember hearing him say, "Listen, sweetie. You've been a great friend of mine. I know you lost that last bet, but because you've been such a good customer, I'm not going to take your money on that bet."
He was playing the bookie salesman game big-time.
Also, he had an e-mail detailing what appeared to be some sort of insider tip regarding one of the game. I got the feeling that he had info that he wasn't supposed to have. People came over and would look at his sheet and write down their bets on the sheet. It appeared that he ran tabs for the players where they could 'owe' him if they lost. When Cowboy finally got ready to leave the game, he asked if anyone at the table liked football or basketball. A couple of guys raised their hand and Cowboy reached into his pocket and pulled out business cards touting his bookie business.
A bookie and poker player with two mistresses and a wife. If there's anyone that is more Vegas than this guy (outside of Elvis or Newton John), I'd love to see it. Guys like this are why I play poker.
FYI.....I lost $40 in 3 hours, but I had a blast doing it.
