Los Angeles Trip Report Part 3

by Nolan Dalla

This page is part of Ken's Poker Page

On 21 Oct 1998 19:27:46 GMT, in rec.gambling.poker nolandalla@aol.com
(NolanDalla) wrote:

The next morning, I wake-up about 8:00 am (four hours sleep). It's
downstairs for breakfast in a $3-6 hold'em game. One of the best things about
playing in California is the excellence of the food at a very low cost
inside the cardrooms. This makes the Atlantic City casinos second-class by
comparison. Sorry -- but the AC people can crow all they want about good
poker service, but until they improve the quality of dealers and introduce
real food service they will *never* hold a candle to California. I mean,
we are talking your choice of practically any menu item for like less that
$5 (it's free if you play $10-20 or higher in most rooms). On my poker
trips I normally lose a great amount of weight (no kidding -- I lost 17
pounds in a week once). But with ample good food INSIDE THE CARDROOMS on
this trip -- I aim to take advantage by gauging myself full of everything
from Thai to Italian. And the food is OUTSTANDING too! Instead of my
breakfast COSTING me money, with a bit of play on automatic pilot, I
manage to score about $35 in this little game. Result:

PLUS $35 in 45 minutes.

Another interesting caveat about Los Angeles that is different from the
resort areas (LV, AC, FW, et al.) is that you see businessmen coming into
the room to play on the morning shift BEFORE heading to work. Men in
suits and ties playing small stuff like $2-4 and $3-6. Then, after they
take a $50 hit, they run off to sell Chevrolets and insurance policies on
the day shift. There are a fair number of retirees and students at all
times of the day -- plus an assortment of people doing God knows what for
money. They sure as hell aren't making anything at the poker table.

I have to be in downtown Los Angeles to meet some people at 10:00 am. One
of the best things about CRYSTAL PARK is that it is located directly on
the red-line -- which serves as LA's rail system. Of course, commuting in
LA is a nightmare, but I found this train to be extremely efficient and
convenient for my transportation needs (there are some great stories to
come about this train, later on in the report -- including the story of
"HOW THE LA RAIL CRASH MADE ME $2400" -- just to keep you interested).

The train runs from Long Beach to Downtown. In between, it passes through
Compton (where the CRYSTAL PARK casino is located) then heads north
through Watts and South Central Los Angeles. Needless to say, I am the
only white person on this train (I commuted four times) This is not
exactly a train I want to be riding at 2:00 am all alone with $5,000 in my
pocket -- but during the daytime it's generally safe. Also, I think of
myself as having a fair degree of common sense, in that if you treat
people with respect, you can travel in areas of the city where many people
are ill-advised to go.

Compton is pure Quentin Tarrentino country. In fact, Compton and nearby
Torrance served as the on-site locations for "Jackie Brown (a brilliant
movie IMHO)" and the earlier Tarrentino film projects including "Pulp
Fiction." In interviews with the film director that I have seen, I was
extremely impressed by Tarrentino's good sense about the world, growing up
in a poor, predominantly black section of urban Los Angeles, and taking
those experiences with him as he launched a successful film career. I
bring this up because I like the aspect of blending in to the local scene,
not only in general but at the poker table as well. During this road
trip, I was never once asked "where are you from" nor ever gave any
indication that I was not just one of the locals out to try and make a
buck. OK, sorry for the Tarrentino tangent, I was just making the point
that by taking a "local" approach to playing, there are advantages and
that doesn't lead to obnoxious questions or table chatter. So, let's move
on.

I'm back at the Crystal at 3:00 and sit in a $10-20 hold'em game. No
recollection of any details. Result: MINUS $150 in two hours.

The table complexion changes as the tournament approaches, with seats
being filled by more competent players. I move to a $6-12 hold'em game
and go on a nice run. Result: PLUS $305 in one hour. Interesting side
note: JOHN BONETTI walks by and sees this game. A seat open and BONETTI
takes it, directly to my left. I thought this was humorous because I've
never seen a world-class player play anything lower than ~$10-20.
Obviously, with BONETTI in the game and on my left I have to make some
adjustments -- but they proved effective as I made a nice score and was
able to justify playing in the tournament which is about to begin.

7:00 p.m. Limit Hold'em with two re-buys. About 250 entrees. I draw a
table in the back of the room. On my immediate right is BRAD DAUGHERTY
(1992 WSOP Champion). I build a good-sized stack then run cold. Busted
out with about 6 tables remaining. One thing I learned was a strategy for
playing the turn on a draw in limit poker. I saw BRAD DAUGHTERTY use this
twice (both times successfully). I'll refrain from comment here, but it
goes to show that if you play tournaments (or side games for that matter)
and watch the masters -- you can pick up something at times).

After the bust-out I head back to the high-limit area and TOM MCEVOY
motions for me to take a seat in the $15-30 hold'em game. TOM mentions
it's a great table. Problem is, the bad players are leaving and it's like
musical chairs.

I take two horrible beats, once set over set and the other with a flush
losing to a bigger flush. Ouch. Result: MINUS $300

I need to reduce my variance, so I opt for $15-30 Omaha H/L. The deck
runs over me. I mean the cards just practically play themselves. RESULT:
In fours hours, PLUS $1190.

Once more interesting caveat before this day ends are a few of the ex-AC
people I see in the room. First of all, there is GEORGE -- also known as
"RIVER" who used to frequent the Tropicana. He has become a Prop Player
at the Crystal, putting in 30 hours a week. Another is WALLY, who is a
large black man, with the Bob Marley type hair and always wears
sunglasses. BIG WALLY in my view was one of Atlantic City's best
all-around poker players when he was based there.

About a year ago, he moved to LA to invest in a business and he plays
poker more than anything. WALLY says to me that he put on like 30 pounds
since he moved to CA (all that inexpensive good food in the poker room) --
but looking at him it's hardly noticeable. Kind of' like adding a couple of
barrels of oil to an oil tanker.

Another ex-AC player I see is STACEY (?). Note: Unsure of name. She's
the young woman who seems to play in all the middle-limit AC games and was
successful. She's never been someone who was very social in my estimation
and although I recognized her immediately, I didn't say a word to her and
vice-versa. I get the impression she is like GEORGE -- living at the
hotel for ~$650 a month and playing full time.

So far the trip has been good. Ahead about $800. I'm only mad about the
tournament losses and the fact I didn't play particularly well in them. I
vow to skip the tournaments from now on and solely concentrate on side
action.

The next day, which is the subject of the next trip report, promises to be
one of the best. Hope you are still with me.........

More to come.........

NOLAN DALLA

Continue to Los Angeles Part 4

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