Went to the Holland Casino in Amsterdam last Saturday. Entrance fee was 7.5 Guilders (a Guilder being about 50 cents). They gave me no problems about my casual dress, though I wasn't wearing sneakers, which I believe are banned. They were willing to check my small backpack "just this once."

The video poker games were a version of Jokers Wild (2-pair) which I assumed were seriously EV-. There was a kinda neat mechanical horseracing machine, more elegantly built than the ones in Vegas, & allowing more betting options. There were lots of (single zero) virtual roulette machines, & of course slots. All this stuff was at the one-guilder level.

Upstairs there was blackjack & roulette & I think baccarat, starting at 20DF (I *think* that "DF" is the correct abbreviation for "Guilders").

The poker games started at 8pm. I signed up about 15mins early, & sat at one of the 2 tables that would start with 8 players on each. The game was 20DF/40DF Hold'em, with a 400DF buy-in. This is bigger than I've played before (I'm usually at US$3/6, with occasional forays into 6/12). But hell, this would be an experience in expanding my cultural horizons and all that.

I chatted with the dealer as I waited for the other players to show up shortly after 8. They were taking a list for a 3rd game, which would be "Dealer's Choice," though the only "choices" would be hold'em or stud. I joked with the dealer about the fact that in this town with (practically) legal prostitution, pot, & magic mushrooms, they apparently feel it's imprudent to expose the public to Omaha Hi/Lo. Perhaps too addictive.

The table talk was practically all in Dutch, though sometimes a player would slip in some English for my benefit. (I recall in the middle of some incomprehensible babble, one of the players saying, "Any 2 cards can lose!", then going back to Dutch.) Everyone was better dressed than I, & better mannered than your average Vegas player.

The smallest chip was 5DF, which players would *sometimes* tip the dealer after a large pot. The skill level seemed similar to the Nevada games I'm familiar with. A few players played bad starting hands, & bluffed a bit much considering how frequently hands went to showdown. In particular, a Loose Player (LP) to my left with lots of chips was calling with garbage pre-flop, & over-playing it post-flop. This gave the game some possibility. However, with a rake of 5% with a *50DF* limit, I doubt that rational men would play under any conditions. But again, I was on vacation etc etc.

I played for 2 hours & won 3 significant hands, all of which included the aforementioned Loose Player:

(1) I call pre-flop with QJ & LP calls behind me. I bet the flop of J53, & LP raises, driving out the big blind & making it heads up. LP holds a 64; with his open-ended straight, he semi-bluffs the turn & pure bluffs the river when he doesn't improve. I check-call both times, for a profit of about US$75 on the hand.

(2) A late position player opens with an apparent steal raise. I re-raise on the button with AK. LP calls from small blind, & original raiser just calls. LP check-folds when I bet the flop of Axx, & the original raiser folds when the turn brings another Ace. (Again, approx +$75).

(3) I raise under the gun with AA & get 2 callers + big blind. I bet & get called by everyone on the flop & turn with a board of 9743. When river pairs the 9, we all check, & they all muck upon seeing my hand. (+$150).

Otherwise, I won a couple tiny pots, surrendered a few rounds of blinds, made a handful of unproductive flop & turn bets. When I walked away at 10pm, my final count was a bit over 500DF ($250) ahead.

Stuart ("RandomStu")
sresnick@slip.net
http://www.slip.net/~sresnick/mypage.shtml

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