First Trip to the Showboat

I was working in North Baltimore yesterday and decided to drive over to AC and play in a Wednesday night tournament. My gut told me to go back to Harrah's but I really wanted to check out the Showboat. I got there a little early, so I got $75 in chips for 1/2 NL. I have a hard time in cash games in getting out of my weak-tight style. I won a couple hands, but ended up -$30 for the night. Time to start the tournament.

First off I quickly realized that Wednesday Night at the Showboat is a lot different tan Saturday Night at Harrah's. Most players seemed to be locals and played very tight and there wasn't a lot of action going on. I sat next to a guy from Czechoslavakia and he got me out of my rhythm by giving me advice on my play. Plus I just couldn't catch a break all night long. During Level 3 I had my AA cracked by a straight. This knocked me down to 1/2 my stack. No worries, lots of play left and plenty of time to make a couple doubleups. Finally won a small pot with QQ. Lost chips when I was dealt KJ, 55, KQ that never connected with the winning hand. There were 47 players and I got knocked out after 2 hours and somewhere around the 39th-40th place.

Overall, it was a tough night and not much action. People were folding to every raise unless they had a good hand, and the flops kept killing me with not connecting on my hands. I enjoyed the Showboat and it was the biggest poker room I've played in and the nicest. I believe the dealers, as a whole, are better at the Showboat than Harrah's. They kept the flow going and was able to accurately handle all-in pots, etc. Also, they seemed to really know how to deal the cards right to you. I did have one dealer who slid one of my cards off the table and also flipped over one of my cards. Other than this, I have no complaints about the dealers. The one bad mark on them is that they seem a lot quieter than at Harrah's. The Showboat is a great poker experience, but I will probably go back to Harrahs where there seems to be a lot more fish.