As my severe cold (that is all I hope) continues into its third day I got to thinking last night about our short lives and those that we have met in our poker journey who now play in that great full table no bad beat poker game in the sky. I wanted to take a moment to share some moments, stories or just impressions I had of these players. My memory is not quite as sharp as it once was, so if the commenter's would like to add to or amend my story, please feel free.
Mr. Wilson: He was a robust, intense player who generally played very tight but aggressive poker. I thought he was extremely likable and really seemed like a gentleman but sometimes his temper would flare when the loose aggressive player would crack his big pair with garbage. Then he would let it fly! A very funny story that Dawn, a red-headed casino employee told about him was once he walked in and said to her, " Hi Red, does the carpet match the curtains?". She said that she turned beet red and that normally something like that would not phase her at all, but was so unexpected coming from a gentleman like Mr. Wilson.
Jim: He was an older gentleman, working his way through cancer treatments. His most memorable trait was his extensive hat collection. He had so many hats with funny sayings on them, that in the years I played with him, I never saw the same one twice. I asked him about it, and he said that his kids kept giving them to him.
Old Jim: This guy looked like he was in his late 90's. Very frail and old for his years...I think he was only late 70's or early 80's. He was a hell of a player, winning several big tournaments including one tournament of champions just before he passed away.
Sarge: Wow. Where do you start with this guy? He was a former hand to hand combat instructor for the Green Berets. Does that tell you bad ass? He was probably 6'3" in his prime and actually worked as a bouncer in his '70's. Is that a bad ass or what? He retired as a command sergeant major, which is the highest enlisted rank in the army. He told a very funny story to me once. He was assigned to the pentagon as an aide to a general. A young captain had an appointment with the general and as he sat down in the waiting area asked Sarge if he could get him a cup of coffee. Sarge said, "Do I look like a secretary? Get your own fucking coffee". The captain, suitably insulted took his grievance to the general when he met him. The general eyed the young captain and said, "Sarge there saved my life in Vietnam, you better get your own fucking coffee".
So, my favorite story about Sarge was playing a tournament with him. He really was not a great player but the deck was running right over him that day. We ended up heads up, he had most of the chips on the table. I had maybe 1 or 2 blinds. He said, "Do you want to chop?" I looked at him in disbelief and replied, "we really don't need to Sarge, you have most of the chips". He said, "It's my nap time, let's chop". So we did, you don't argue with a bad ass Green Beret.
RC: A fine, class act of a gentleman. His wife was very sick and when she passed away he did too a few months later. My favorite story was a tournament we were playing in. Somehow he, myself, and one of the dealers who was playing got it all in after two of us flopped sets. He had both of us covered, and we revealed pocket 5's, 8's and RC had J's. The flop was 8/5/x. The river was a jack and both of us hit the rail. Nice hand RC.
Sheila: She was an interesting player at the table. Tight aggressive and a solid player. She was caring for her sick husband when the big C got her first. She would show up for poker whenever she felt good enough after her treatments.
Triple Gutter: Grady was an extremely likable player, even when he was beating you as he did the last tournament I played with him. We flopped set over set, and I was the one eliminated. He was a truck driver and did enjoy some adult beverages when he played. He got his nickname when one night he swore that he could not fold a hand because he had a triple gut shot draw. Hmmmm. He even had a jacket embroidered with his nickname.
Old Joe: As opposed to new Joe, I suppose. Very nice man and a good player. He moved to California to be closer to his son and heard through the grapevine of his passing.
Barbara: Big Joe's mother, she was a tough old East coast bird and a much better player than her son. I saw them go head to head quite a few times and there was definitely no quarter given. My last tournament with her we ended up heads up on the final table and she had a massive chip lead. I jokingly asked her if she wanted to chop but she wanted none of that. She had so many chips that I just went kamikaze on her, shoving every hand. She would fold a few, call a few and lose, and suddenly we were even. I again offered to chop, but no way. We continued and I eventually won, costing her probably $200. Wish she had taken my offer. RIP Barbara.
Mr. Wilson: He was a robust, intense player who generally played very tight but aggressive poker. I thought he was extremely likable and really seemed like a gentleman but sometimes his temper would flare when the loose aggressive player would crack his big pair with garbage. Then he would let it fly! A very funny story that Dawn, a red-headed casino employee told about him was once he walked in and said to her, " Hi Red, does the carpet match the curtains?". She said that she turned beet red and that normally something like that would not phase her at all, but was so unexpected coming from a gentleman like Mr. Wilson.
Jim: He was an older gentleman, working his way through cancer treatments. His most memorable trait was his extensive hat collection. He had so many hats with funny sayings on them, that in the years I played with him, I never saw the same one twice. I asked him about it, and he said that his kids kept giving them to him.
Old Jim: This guy looked like he was in his late 90's. Very frail and old for his years...I think he was only late 70's or early 80's. He was a hell of a player, winning several big tournaments including one tournament of champions just before he passed away.
Sarge: Wow. Where do you start with this guy? He was a former hand to hand combat instructor for the Green Berets. Does that tell you bad ass? He was probably 6'3" in his prime and actually worked as a bouncer in his '70's. Is that a bad ass or what? He retired as a command sergeant major, which is the highest enlisted rank in the army. He told a very funny story to me once. He was assigned to the pentagon as an aide to a general. A young captain had an appointment with the general and as he sat down in the waiting area asked Sarge if he could get him a cup of coffee. Sarge said, "Do I look like a secretary? Get your own fucking coffee". The captain, suitably insulted took his grievance to the general when he met him. The general eyed the young captain and said, "Sarge there saved my life in Vietnam, you better get your own fucking coffee".
So, my favorite story about Sarge was playing a tournament with him. He really was not a great player but the deck was running right over him that day. We ended up heads up, he had most of the chips on the table. I had maybe 1 or 2 blinds. He said, "Do you want to chop?" I looked at him in disbelief and replied, "we really don't need to Sarge, you have most of the chips". He said, "It's my nap time, let's chop". So we did, you don't argue with a bad ass Green Beret.
RC: A fine, class act of a gentleman. His wife was very sick and when she passed away he did too a few months later. My favorite story was a tournament we were playing in. Somehow he, myself, and one of the dealers who was playing got it all in after two of us flopped sets. He had both of us covered, and we revealed pocket 5's, 8's and RC had J's. The flop was 8/5/x. The river was a jack and both of us hit the rail. Nice hand RC.
Sheila: She was an interesting player at the table. Tight aggressive and a solid player. She was caring for her sick husband when the big C got her first. She would show up for poker whenever she felt good enough after her treatments.
Triple Gutter: Grady was an extremely likable player, even when he was beating you as he did the last tournament I played with him. We flopped set over set, and I was the one eliminated. He was a truck driver and did enjoy some adult beverages when he played. He got his nickname when one night he swore that he could not fold a hand because he had a triple gut shot draw. Hmmmm. He even had a jacket embroidered with his nickname.
Old Joe: As opposed to new Joe, I suppose. Very nice man and a good player. He moved to California to be closer to his son and heard through the grapevine of his passing.
Barbara: Big Joe's mother, she was a tough old East coast bird and a much better player than her son. I saw them go head to head quite a few times and there was definitely no quarter given. My last tournament with her we ended up heads up on the final table and she had a massive chip lead. I jokingly asked her if she wanted to chop but she wanted none of that. She had so many chips that I just went kamikaze on her, shoving every hand. She would fold a few, call a few and lose, and suddenly we were even. I again offered to chop, but no way. We continued and I eventually won, costing her probably $200. Wish she had taken my offer. RIP Barbara.
3 comments:
Wow. Lots of memories here.
I first met JT & Hollie at Jokers when I was playing 3-6 and they were in a poker league there. JT convinced me to come to the Moose and I met Mr. Wilson on my first visit. He made me feel very welcome and talked with me like he'd known me for years. I remember the way his face would get beet red when he was mad. A sweet and lovely man.
I didn't play with Jim too often, but I remember his funny hats.
I didn't play with Sarge much either, but I remember you telling me the chop story. He was always very nice to me, but I can certainly see him being hard as nails if he wanted.
Sheila was one of a kind. I remember her favorite hand was 4-5 (Jesse James) especially on the button. She was one of the folks who got a card cap from me. I would check raise her on occasion just to see her reaction. "You're check raising me in a 3-6 game?" She was a hoot.
I probably miss Grady most of all. He was just funny and a good guy. I went to his funeral (and Sheila's). I think of him every time I get 8-7 and usually say "triple gutter" quietly to myself.
We will have to agree to disagree on Barbara's play. I thought she was just terrible and got lucky a lot. She was a ton of fun though and I miss her. I also like Joe and he rarely comes to play anymore since she passed away.
Again, thanks for the great memories and I sure hope you feel better soon!!
Yeah, you are right about Barbara, she was not that good but very lucky. Still better than Joe though! I also thought about Sheila's reactions to the check raise. She hated it. I couldn't remember if it was her or Marianne who had the violent reaction to it. Frank used to do it on purpose to Sheila just to piss her off.
I'm commenting just to see if you are feeling better. Sure hope so. By the way, it's funny I mentioned Barbara's son Joe and how I hadn't seen him in forever, and then he showed up at the Sunday tournament. I knocked him out early.
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