Conversations In Vegas

I wish I could tell you all the great conversations I had this weekend. Yet, I feel some of them were private in that they need not travel outside the realm of where they took place. Yet, I would like to re-cap three that just really got me thinking.

1. Wow! If you haven’t read the post that Otis put up you should go check it now. I could tell there was something else on the young man’s mind the whole weekend, yet I attributed it to an artistic fit as I like to call them. Many of my writer friends and artist in the city often get them. I didn’t ask, “Otis, what’s wrong?” We have respect for one another and enjoy one another’s company, but that would just be crossing the line in my view and when an artist is struggling with their inner demons, you let him/her be.

Yet, there was a conversation I had with Otis that just blew me away. Maybe it touched me because it was coming from an older sibling. I told Otis how his brother came over the top on a good hand I was holding late in the tournament and how he was a good solid player.

That’s when Otis chimed in…”yeah, he’s tough, and did you know he’s the brains in the family.” I was like, “really.” Otis went on, “yeah, I love my brother to death and I look up to him for not only being so damn smart but just being a good person (all the time looking directly at this brother at the table, he’s staring at this brother; no, more like marveling at him).” Otis went on, “Yeah, shit, I wish I had a bit of his talents and brains and who knows where I could have ended up.” I thought this might be a cry for, “Otis, you are a smart guy.” But Otis was there pouring his heart out about how great and smart his brother was compared to him. I was dead silent for Otis was in that zone where all childhood memories come flooding back and all the pain and happy times just culminate into this deep appreciation and love.

See, my older sister often talks about me in such a way. I have always found it a bit uncomfortable to hear things like that from someone who I looked up to growing up. Now, well now I see that her love for me is so grand and I never seen it for so many years. There are times when she just hugs me and starts crying, like I said, it’s a lot to handle psychologically as well as emotionally (and no, the Rooster doesn’t cry…he laughs it off).

If some alien from another planet were to land on earth and tell my sister in private that’s it’s either her or me to die first…she would jump on the opportunity to die first. I would do the same thing, but it’s the manner in which it would be done. My sister would do it because I’m her little brother and she loves me and there is nothing greater in her eyes. Me, well I would do it because she is my sister and little Mexican boys are taught to defend their sister’s from harm. Well I heard my sister voice in Otis, it was if he would jump in front of a bullet for his brother with no questions asked, get hit and wink at his brother with a smile. Oh yes, I’m being drastic, but the love that I seen there between two brother was that immense, so immense that I feel ashamed that my broken words are trying to capture the moment and they do it no justice…and for that I’m sorry. But to see that love in person was truly a great moment.

2. This involves everyone’s favorite little guy, Iggy. What can one say; when one of the best players in our crew speaks I have to listen. So I’m telling Iggy that there is a game at the Taj that I would like to take a crack at. Let me step back a second.

Iggy and I had several meaningful conversations this weekend. But like I said, not all is meant to be blogged. Thanks for the words, Iggy.

So I’m telling Iggy about this game at the Taj. It’s a big game but I’m willing to take half my roll in there to see what comes about. Not sure how many of you have been to the Taj, basically, they have a waist high rail that blocks you from the high stakes games so you can see the games going on. I’ve only played on that side three times, and all three times I was very outmatched and outplayed, but thanks to some suck-outs I ended up +500 there.

In any case, they have this mixed game that takes place there on the weekends. You can see the same three Asian girls playing in it with this one Caucasian brother…with them as the mainstay and a bunch of random individuals sit in. So this game is a big limit-mixed game (I always try and push my luck at the limits I play when I’m in the zone). I mentioned that I think if I bought in for half my roll that I would be fine. Iggy then did the math quickly in his head and he said, “in order to play comfortable you would have to at least buy-in for much more than what you were thinking.” He went on to tell me with my bankroll that he wouldn’t do it. I really thought about that conversation a lot. I just wanted to take a crack and see what would happen. The game looked passive with not many people pushing with raises or extra aggressiveness. Yet, I was thinking back to my big loss a few weeks ago and how that pretty much devastated me after so many winning sessions, so how could I handle losing half my bankroll after a series of losses at those limits.

In the end, Iggy was right. The cost for a quick glory run wasn’t worth it. I would have to win some CJ like tournaments before I could make a run at that table. So now I have this New Year coming up and the need to double my bankroll to get to the level where I can play that game comfortably. Even if it is just a one time stab. Thanks for giving me the heads up, Iggy. I would have probably walked in there and seen my bankroll cut in half due to hesitating on pulling the trigger due to my bankroll endangerment.

3. Conversation with The Heads after the tournament. Nuff said.

posted by Joaquin "The Rooster" Ochoa @ 10:48 AM