“Twilight Zone”

I arrived in Cincinnati. I finally found my way to a taxi. It was really strange in that I had to get off the plane, get on a bus, and walk on 4 moving sidewalks prior to finding a taxi. The taxi driver drove like a bat out of hell! I observed him going 92 mph at one point on the freeway. Needless to say he got me to my hotel in a timely fashion. I checked in and then headed for the training class. Fortunately I was not too late. On my first break I decided to view the city from the 23rd floor. As I glanced around I noticed one of the large buildings had a huge URS sign. That is the company that bought Radian. It was a little bit like being in the twilight zone. Other things made me feel like I was a little like being in the twilight zone. The fact that the corporate office was on Vine Street, because I lived on Vine Street in Geneva Ohio growing up. The fact that one of our products is called Geneva is a little strange. One of the instructors was from Ohio State, which I idolized as a kid. Now I am for the Longhorns all the way, but I do cheer for the “Worthless Nuts”.

The course did provide value, but I am not going to bore you with that. I will quickly summarize the highlights and provide a little bit of poker content.

We met that evening at a restaurant called Nicholson’s. We started off at the bar and we were there for about an hour. The Guinness tasted great. I was having a conversation with Mr. R and this gal walks by carrying a camera. He says “Hey will you take my picture?” Of course he was just flirting, but little did he know that she was a photographer for a local paper. She willingly snapped off some photos and we just might be in the paper for next week’s review of the restaurant. We finally made our way to our tables. There were about 20 -25 of us. It was a fantastic time.

Waitress could not get the cork out of two bottles of wine. We had a ton of appetizers. The muscles were fabulous. I had a filet for dinner and shared several terrific desserts.

I went back to the room and played poker on CNR for about 30 minutes. I managed to win about $.60.

The next day’s training went fine. They do cater in lunch, but we decided to visit a local institution called Skyline Café. They were on the Food network for their unique chili. We just had to have it. I ordered what was called a 4-Way, which is spaghetti, chili, onions, and cheese. And I do mean cheese, a three inch mound of cheddar cheese. The chili is unique in that it had a hint of cinnamon and supposedly chocolate. My conclusion was that it was better than a basic turkey sandwich. After class, one of the attendees decided we needed another team building exercise, so he organized a poker tournament for after dinner. Half the folks went to get sushi and we went to get ribs at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse. The rib experience was OK and the Ted’s Pale Ale was very good. Some ladies from some environmental firm (US Environmental maybe!) came up to our table asking where to party in Cincinnati. Of course we did not have a clue. Many images were conjured up, but we will pass on sharing those. Let’s just say that one lady was a little heavier than the Washington Redskin Hogs.

Now I will move on to the poker content. We called Mr. R and he stated that he reserved a room at the Westin and drinks would be served. Sounds cool! Well after searching all of the conference rooms we find out that the room was actually the front room to a restaurant. I was a little concerned with the huge windows and being at the front of the restaurant. Mr. R had bought some plastic chips. We proceeded with the facade that it was a team building exercise. The bar tender pointed out that during a team building exercise no $$$ could be visible on the table. There were 10 players total and Mr. T had bought enough chips for 8. We figured it out so each player starts with $500 for a $20 buy-in. Top three places would get a piece of the prize pool. One person had never played holdem before and she was the only female at the table. My money was on her to win it all! The two other players from the Austin office I felt were the strongest players, but time would tell. Very first hand I get dealt pocket 7s. I decided I needed to portray myself as an aggressive player to test the waters. Blinds were $5 and $10, so I raised it to $40. I thought people would fold, but I got 6 callers. What did I get myself into? The flop came JJx. I checked and everyone checked around. The turn was X and the river was X. The pot was a good size, but I decided to check. Everyone checked around and I actually picked up a good pot with jacks and sevens. Surprise! In other situations I would have kept on firing at the pot, but I had no clue what these players would do.

I did not get any cards so I slipped into my conservative shell. My co-worker Mr. C lost a large pot on the river to Mr. T when a 9 hit giving Mr. T a set to Mr. C’s top two pair. Mr. C was down to about $250. Few hands later Mr. C made a $50 raise. He was re-raised. He went all-in with AKs. He was called and the raiser had pocket aces. Mr. C was the first eliminated about 30 minutes into the event.

I tried limping in a couple of times with tiny pocket pairs – 33 and 22. I ended up moving down to my original stack, but I was still in good shape to attack if I got the cards. Then the craziest hand I have seen in a long time. Basically 4 players were all-in pre-flop. The highest hand was A6o. I was like WOW they are going in with that. I should be in good shape. One person was eliminated and another crippled. Mr. R was an interesting player. I believe he got down to $30 at one point, but kept fighting his way back. The one thing I can say about Mr. R was that he was entertaining. He made sure everyone at the table was having a good time. The organizer of the tournament went out 5th or 6th and soon we were down to the final four. I had a set of two’s and lost to a set of 6’s on the river. I was down to about $150. It was a bad time to get short stacked. Two hands later I got the hand I was waiting for, AA. I went all-in and doubled up! I went all-in a couple of hands later and doubled up.

I forgot to mention the run Mr. S went on. Man this dude was on fire. AA, KK, QQ, QQ, JJ, and AA again. The last time he pocket aces I was in the big blind. He made a large raise, so I just let him have the blinds. Soon Mr. S and Mr. T were battling for the chip lead. Mr. T went all-in and Mr. R called. If Mr. T wins I am in the money. Mr. R turns over AJ and Mr. T turns over 75o. I almost fell out of my chair. It was a good play by Mr. T because he had Mr. R. out chipped 5:1. No help for either one on the flop. No help on the turn. I start chanting, Five! Five! Five! Five! Yes indeed a five hit on the river eliminating Mr. R. I was in the money. I was getting blinded away quickly at this point. I was in the BB with QJo and I went all-in. Mr. T of course calls me with A7. An ace came on the turn and I was drawing dead. Oh well! I did have a couple of great beers, but I do not remember the name.

Mr. S and Mr. T were getting tired so they basically went to war. Mr. S ended up taking first place. We settled up the bar tab and tossed all the plastic chips in a bag to hand back to Mr. R. When I got back to my room I decided to play a little more online at CNR. No more than sitting down I was dealt pocket Kings. Someone raised, putting me all-in. I quickly called. A king came on the flop and my $4 stack quickly grew to $11. I decided a few hands later that I had better get some sleep, because I had homework for the last day of class and a late flight to catch.

We had a great day at class and concluded the trip with a wonderful Mediterranean meal.

Since the trip I have not played much poker. Hopefully this weekend I will find time to enter a tournament and I am looking for another site to join.

Play on!