Booze + Live Poker + Phil Laak + Moo = Profit and Ice Cream?

Where to start, where to start? Tonight was our dedicated drinking night. We started by going over to the Wynn and putting our names on the waiting list, who knew what was to ensue? We were number 14 and 15, so we went and had dinner. Once again, we were taken to the back of the restaurant and sat on our own. I swear there is some racism going on. Every time we go out we get taken to the back away from anyone.

We ate some goose, which was strange, but a new experience. We tried some Macau Beer; it tasted kind of fruity, but loosened us up a bit. Once we got back to the poker room we’d missed our roll call so we had to go on the waiting list again. They had a very strange policy where drinks were free outside of the poker room, but once you start playing you had to pay. So we had 3 vodka and red bulls each while we waited and then they opened a new table.

We got seats next to each other for the first time on the trip and it was a lot of fun. When we sat down the guy to our left was a white guy wearing a suit, early twenties. We asked him if he was a POHM and he took offence. We knew he wasn’t American because they don’t know what a POHM is. So we concluded that he was an Aussie also and after like 20 minutes of guessing where he was from, we found out he was from Randwick in NSW. His name is James and he works in Macau as a horse trainer. We proceeded to shout him vodka and red bulls all night and talk crap.

Rohan and I got involved in some super sick hands against each other. Not that it matters because we are trading our action anyway. The first hand we played against each other I had JJ, raised on the button, he 3-bet out of the blinds. Flop was Txx, check check, I turn a jack, he checks and calls. River blanks and he check/folds showing QQ.

Second hand we are both in early position, I raise QQ, he 3bets, I call. Flop QJx, I check/called, turn blanked and went check/check, river was a king and I bet. He folded AK face up.

Meanwhile, we spot a guy across the room that looks a lot like poker pro Phil Laak. We talk about it for like 20 minutes, debating whether it is him or not. Eventually, I got up the courage to go over and talk to him. He was a top and very funny bloke. Earlier in the night we played against a guy calling himself Phish, he was with Phil, apparently he is over here researching the HK/Macau poker market because he is getting involved somehow. Anyway, Phil was playing the highest game in the room and just messing around. He was up for a chat. Rohan came over as well and he told us the story about the World Series of Poker where he dressed up as an old man and nobody knew. Apparently, he got the idea while he was high and watching Jackass.

We then asked up his High Stakes Poker hand vs. Antonius. He told us he shouldn’t have bet the river, because as soon as Patrick called the turn he knew he was calling the river. There was more to his story, but I don’t really remember it now.

How could we not ask about the J. Tilly hand where she checks behind on the river with a full house? He told us she has holes in her head sometimes (whatever that means). Like some poker concepts she grasped straight away, but sometimes she gets intimidated/lost.

For a while we went back and played at the table. We were getting in trouble for talking in English during hands? Whatever happened to English only at the table? We had some fun with some of the local players, calling them out for being pros and making them laugh. Rohan and I played another sick hand where I had Jh8h and flopped a straight flush draw, played it pretty slow on a paired board and made flush on river. Rohan led out river, other guy called and showed his hand, I had that beat so I called. Rohan had the queen high flush and won that one.

Not long after, I picked up Ad3d and limped behind a bunch. Flop can 385 two diamonds, Rohan donked couple of callers, I raised big. Rohan called, everyone else folded. Turn was an ace giving me two pair, Rohan check/raised all-in and I called. He showed 78 and I won. I played around to the blinds and we left. Between us we made a few thousand, don’t really know how. Funny story, the name of the last dealer we had was Moo!!! Also, coolering someone is now known as cruelering.

Rohan had been chatting to Phil while I was finishing, we talked some more crap with him and left. We are potentially going to play at his poker club in Hong Kong next Thursday. We left the casino and went to the supermarket and got batteries, weird drinks and ice cream. The ice cream was called ‘Cutie Moo’, we think it was named after Moo, our dealer.

Back in our hotel room we berated Australia for sucking at T20 cricket. The end.