Divided and Conquered

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Otis and I made our way to the Gaelic game without our G-Vegas comrades G-Rob and TheMark.  During the course of the evening, each of us took turns doubling each other up.  While each pot in question was close to $600, neither of us showed any profit in taking on the other.  Of course, the house rake made out pretty well during our shove-fest.  Pointless chip redistribution among good players is simply the friction that fuels the house fires.  For us players, it’s as Jimmy Johnson would say, “Duh-umb.”

This week, the group was divided.  Otis and G-Rob took on the Tuesday night Gaelic game while TheMark and myself waited until Wednesday to tackle the denizens of The Spring Hotel.  While this divide and conquer strategy may have some long-term benefits to each of our bankrolls, in the short term, it’s most certainly less fun.

What’s also interesting to note too is that the player base is shifting.  No longer will you find the recreational husband and wife team short-buying for their night’s enjoyment.  Some of the “slow” folk and clueless wonders who are more than happy to chase their dominated hands as far as it takes to suckout haven’t been seen in a while.

Some of the regulars who’ve been playing in G-Vegas underground games for far longer than I have were speaking of the “old times.”  They referred to a juicy, downtown $2/$5 game that was run to the ground by both obnoxious and more talented players.  The game used to be populated by the rich, recreational fish players – doctors, lawyers, etc. – who were looking to have some fun.  Their fun and most likely their expendable cash had been taken away and the game died.

I’m hoping it’s just end-of-the-year syndrome where the holidays traditionally put a crunch on everyone’s discretionary budget.  Because all four of us have noticed that the games are getting a bit tighter and the players are getting a bit better.  This week, G-Rob saw two people correctly fold QQ pre-flop.  I saw someone correctly fold TT pre-flop to my early position re-raise.  Also, many of the players currently rounding out the tables are veterans of $400NL and $600NL online games.

The talent level is rising.  Hopefully the new year will bring back the old crowd.