Landlord79 says

Kind of a Good News, Bad News kind of thing? On goes the saga of Xrod. Keep turning over stones and eventually you'll find the cash game job that you really want.
GL
LL79

12/02/07

lakeoffire says

Keep practicing and don't give up! You'll be fine, good luck.

12/03/07

Mr_Taterhead says

Good luck finding a steady cash game job. I will need a lucky dealer when I go up to AC.

12/04/07

CVimes2p2 (Anonymous) says

Every time you audition you will improve, ldo. I like the fact that you are taking responsibility for your job/life and not sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring. If and when the Showboat really wants you to work for them it will be fairly obvious and they will make it happen regardless of anything else your involved in.

Who would be the Ambassodor of Quan by the way?

Good luck, but really, luck has very little to do with it.

Vimes

12/04/07

harlem says

Seems that your''e paving your own destiny and making things happen. Keep it going

12/05/07

Chooose an identity

Login/Register Enter Name Anonymous

Log in with your TwoRags.com account. Click here to register. Email: Password: Remember log-in information Name:

Ambassador of the Quan

So just to recap the last blog, I went to a World Series of Poker Circuit audition at Harrah’s about a month ago and the hired me on the spot along with everyone else auditioning. They were basically giving jobs away. My next audition, this was not the case. The Showboat is probably one of the better known poker rooms in A.C. I don’t have any input on it as I have not played there yet. This audition actually came before the WSOP one, but I was approached for the circuit job first so I thought I would start with it instead of this one.

Pressure

In the last blog I talked about being nervous. This audition was the reason. I was working on my apartment (I do handy work around the house for my landlord for a little pocket change) when I got a call from my buddy that works in the office at the dealer’s school. He said “A lady is here from the Showboat and she’s looking for dealers, we told her how good you were and she wants to take a look at you.” Sounds awesome right? Now don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that the people that own the school put my name out there and are trying to help me out but they set the bar a little high for me. They have only seen me in the most relaxed situation I will ever deal in: dealer’s school. In school you can make all the mistakes you want and it’s not big deal. You aren’t costing anyone money or their tourney life.

I get dressed in some decent clothes and take the ride to the school. I hop in with the morning class (I took the night class) and play a few hands, then the teacher asks me to deal a couple. I am about to shit my pants. I wasn’t used to the cards they were using on top of my enormous amount of nervousness so my shuffle was pretty sloppy. My pitch was good, but I made like a million mistakes and I froze when I tried to make a side pot. It didn’t go good, but good news…this wasn’t my audition. She told me the audition will be in a few days so work on this and that and I will be fine. Great.

Second Chance

That was like the 10th time I was humbled during the past few months. Every time I thought I really had this whole dealing thing down, I didn’t really. I just had a false sense of things because the other people in my class or other classes either didn’t know poker as well as I so they spent so much time trying to understand the basics and not working on actually dealing, or they were just retarded. So after that disaster I decided it was time to really work hard at this thing. I decided I would go into school and practice on my own at an empty table or something. I say hello to the owner as I walk in and he told me the Showboat lady will be back tonight. Sweet! I get a chance to redeem myself.

This time she just sits with me and one other guy. We just dealt had a good time and joked around. Again I was still a bit nervous, but I did much better. I didn’t do as well as I know I am capable of, but I showed her that yesterday was nervousness for sure. I still shit my pants when I had to do side pots so I knew I was going to have to really work at them hard if I wanted this job and the audition was tomorrow.

Big Leagues

I practiced on fixing all the mistakes I was making all morning. I woke up at 8 and practiced until 2 (my audition is at 3). I feel super confident I will be fine in this thing and I have the attitude of what happens, happens. I drive there, I am nervous again and am talking myself through all the things that could come up. I am ready.

I walk in to see I am the first one here. I was only like 15 minutes early too. What kid of image are these other people trying to portray? The way I grew up with sports and jobs was if you were on time…you were late. Anyway, I see the lady I was working with and she sits me at an empty table in the middle of the action and she has me watch the other dealers, because this is what she expects to see. I watch a few hands and she moves me over to a table in the back of the room with a dealer on break. We start playing a few hands joking around (I won every pot, I ran so good lol).

The rest of the dealers came and we got started late of course. I opted to not be one of the first dealers in there because for one, I was nervous and I wanted to see what I was up against. Well, based on the first three guys I wasn’t up against anything. There was a dealer from Vegas who was good, but besides him I thought I was the next best. I ended up playing and joking around with everyone and enjoying myself. This really took away all the butterflies and when I got in the box it felt like dealer’s school.

The higher up people in the casinos in Atlantic City are not allowed to gamble in the city. So when auditions come around it’s the only time they get to play, and they have a good time. They were raising every pot and just being maniacs which relaxed us a bit while we were playing, but when we were in the box they gave us fits. I had one pot where there were three side pots. I did them slow, but I did them right (practice paid off). I got out of the box and everyone complemented me on how well I did, nobody said that to anyone else which I found to be interesting. I felt like I gave it everything I could and I was happy with how I did.

Conflict

I told the lady who came to dealer’s school that I would be auditioning for the WSOP. She immediately was like, “that’s not good.” Harrah’s owns the Showboat. They cannot steal me from another property so if I was to get hired they would have to wait until the temporary job at the WSOP is done. Shit! Did I just completely fuck myself out of a full-time job for a part-time one? After my audition I ask again for advice on how I should handle the situation. The room manager, Chris said “Don’t worry about it. If we really want you we can talk to them and take you, it doesn’t make sense for you to work two weeks there and not be able to work here."

Mixed Signals

A week later I get the call about how my audition went. They told me I am on their alternate list. That essentially means that if the people that they actually wanted don’t want the job, don’t take the drug test, or fail it I would be next up. Cool I guess. I thought I did really well, but I guess not well enough. So I ask, “What did I do wrong?” She said, “Nothing.” Hmmm. She explains that I am on the list because of the WSOP thing and I should call her when it is done. Ok cool, I guess I have an opportunity for a full time position after the WSOP and I get to gain a little experience before I start.

A week later I have the WSOP audition. I meet a few guys before I walk in and the question comes up if this is our first audition or not. One of the guys says he went on a Showboat audition. Apparently, they audition over 50 people for like 3 jobs. Throughout my time here in Atlantic City I met a few other people who went on a recent Showboat audition and they all were put on this “alternate list” or the I can’t tell anyone they weren’t good enough so I am going to let them off easy list. Now there are a few other tournaments that start after the WSOP. By misleading me a little (so I think) I don’t know if I should be applying for these jobs to ensure I actually have some income or don’t because I don’t want it to conflict with me getting a cash dealing job.

I Write My Story

I decided my fate was up to me not the Showboat. I am not going to wait around for them to need me. There are plenty of rooms in the city and I will work hard to get their jobs. Don’t get me wrong I will never rule out the Showboat, but I am not burning any bridges that were built and I am not going to let them dictate my life. I could always deal a tourney during the day and cash at night if that is the case, but I am not going to be out of work. I guess we will know all the answers for sure when the WSOP at Harrah’s is over. I decided to apply for the Borgata Winter Poker Open job, I got the call an hour later to come in for an audition in a couple of days…here we go again.