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Adventures at an Underground Poker Room

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 by Phil

I was invited to a underground poker club this past weekend. Usually, I don’t go to these underground rooms because the price of playing usually isn’t worth it. But since my poker league has been quiet I decided to take a shot and see what this underground room was all about.

Most underground poker rooms in New York City charge a hourly rate for each seat. The standard rate is $10 per hour per seat. This is a huge vig for playing poker. If you play 1/2 NL then it costs you $10 per hour to play regardless if you win or lose. I’ve played at these clubs before and it’s extremely hard to make money when you’re being charged $10 per hour. Highway robbery if you ask me but if it’s the only game in town then that’s the way it is. This club was different. They charged a rake. The rake was still pretty high (10%) up to $15 per pot but I still prefer this over the hourly rate because the games usually are really really loose so I’m not entering a pot unless I have a decent hand which is about 15%-20% of time.

The place is located above an insurance company on the 2nd floor. The area is pretty nice and quiet so I felt 100% safe. I press the buzzer for the second floor and I tell the guy who answers that Billy sent me. I get let in.

The place is bigger than I thought. You wouldn’t have guessed it based on looking from the outside. There are about 7 -10 tables available and most of them are filled. I get seated at a table and I’m ready to roll. The table I’m at is a mix of younger and older players, a few immigrants and some guys who looked like they walked off the set of “The  Sopranos” complete with the Goombah casual look that wanna be mobsters prefer. For all I know this place is a mob place and if it is then it should be safe to play and I won’t have to worry about a bunch of masked men with guns busting into the joint and robbing the place.

My table was crazy…and I mean crazy. A $20 raise preflop meant nothing. A $25 preflop raise meant that you were facing 3 players. This is the type of game that you want to play at, unless you’re running bad. Then it’s a living hell. I saw sets getting crushed by runner runner flushes and straights. Guys just won’t fold their gutshots despite the odds against them.

So what happens? I’m playing tight for the most part, waiting for a decent hand. I get 5/5 in the BB. There’s an EP who raised to $20, he gets 3 callers (including the S. I have 55 which in my estimation is probably ahead of everyone based on the hands I’ve seen so far. So I raise to $50. I haven’t  played too many hands and I’m representing a huge hand. I get one caller, the original raiser.

The flop is a nice one. 4,5,6 rainbow. I’ve hit my set so I’m doing handflips in my head at least. I check and the original raiser bets out $50. I raise all in ($150) and he calls. My jubilation is short lived as I see he has 7/8 for a flopped straight but  I still have outs. I need to pair the board and I’m golden again….that’s a big IF. Nothing doing and I lose my first big pot of the night. Oh well. Reload time.

This game is juicy but dangerous at the same time. I don’t want to invest to much in this game despite the loose play because the short term luck factor can really rear its ugly head and I can be stuck hard if I’m not careful.

I reload for another $250.

Things are quiet for about an hour when I get KK on the button. EP bets out for $20 and I get 2 callers. I don’t mess around this time and I bet out $150. They all fold. The cut-off almost calls me though and he says to me he thinks he’s ahead and shows A/5 hearts. I don’t show him anything. He says to me that he showed me his cards I should show him mine. I say to him if he was willing to pay $150 I’d gladly show him my cards, he’s clearly miffed but hey that’s the price you pay for playing poker. Deep down I was also glad he didn’t call because if he spiked an Ace then my blog posting would’ve ended on this hand.

By the 3rd hour of play, I go on a little rush and scratch and claw my way back to even for the night. I mostly play my hands super aggressively and over bet pots when I think I’m ahead. I make a timely fold when I hit two pair but I feel that this guy had a better two pair or a set so I fold to his shove in a 3 way pot. He did showdown his set.

I strike up a conversation with one of the mobster wanna-bes dressed in a Nike track suit. I ask him what business he’s in. He tells me he’s in the garbage business and based on the cards he’s played so far, I believe him.

The 4th hour, I settle down. I’m not getting great cards but I do get some decent ones. I win a $150 pot when my JJ holds up against a OE straight draw.

A guy sits down with $200 and promptly loses his buy-in when his AA gets cracked by 66. He then gets up and leaves. He was at the table for maybe 6 hands.

5th hour.  The tone of the game has changed and I switch gears to counter the other players. I’m being aggressive when I have decent cards as I sense that the some of the players are either stuck hard and now playing super tight. I pick these guys out and I pound them with raises. Others are up big and still gambling. I pick those guys out and play a little more cautiously. The rest of the table are short stacked and are willing to throw in their remaining chips on any type of draw, so I have to make sure I have a decent hand or a superior draw against these guys. At least that’s my game plan.

A shortie loses the rest of his chips when he’s outdrawn. He complains loudly about how unlucky he is and how everybody plays so poorly and why does he play this stupid game. He reloads.

We’re in my 6th hour of the session and I’m at around $800. Not bad. I’m actually in the positive side of things. Then the floor drops beneath me. I lose $125 to a short stack when he pushes with A/10 suited vs. my A/K diamonds and wins the hand when he spikes a 10 on the turn.

I get KK cracked by A/7 suited. I’m negative $200 at this point.

By the 7th hour, things are dying down, It’s early AM and a few players have left. We’re at a short table now and most of the guys who stayed are up and willing to play more. I’m down about $150 at this point. I get 10/10 in the cut off. I bet $10 and get re-raised to $25 by the button. I raise to $50 and the button flat calls. The flop is a good one for me. 7,4,8 with two hearts. I bet out $100 and get called. The turn is a K and I check. The button checks behind me. The river is a blank and I bet out another $100. The button folds but shows me A/J hearts, I show him my 10s.

It’s getting late or early depending on your point of view. One of the players falls asleep at the table.

I’m just about even right now and I’m getting tired. Everyone is getting tired as a matter of fact and the action has dried up because it’s late and people just don’t have the energy to continue playing. I play a few more hands but I just don’t think it’s worth it to continue anymore and I cash out.

I break just about even (I’m down about $10 bucks) as I leave the club. The sun is out and it’s about 7am in the morning. I walk to a Dunkin Donuts nearby and I see one of the players in there. We chat a little and he tells me that he’s going back up to play some more and that I should come. I politely tell him I’m shot and that I might come back later. He says he’ll be there and bolts out the door.

I think to myself that this guy is nuts and that he’s clearly addicted to poker and how I thank God that I’m not like him and I know when to quit. I’ve played 7 hours of live poker and I’m shot. I need a break, I can’t wait to hit my bed and get some sleep….

but not before I play a little poker online….but more on that some other time…