Having been a serious recreational player for well over a decade now - I would be remiss if I didn't mention in this blog that I recently have found a new venue for my degeneracy - the Mighty Moose Lodge!
I guess it's actually been almost two years at this point, since I first got invited to a Saturday evening tournament by my great poker hombre G-Bone. I plunked down my monies and found myself in the company of a bunch of friendly folks who all knew each other and were all very welcoming to this new player.
Everyone was so nice, and the lodge is literally 5 minutes from my house - a fantastic combination that has seen me all but abandon the delightful (and by delightful I mean shitty) venues of Commerce, The Bike and Hollywood Park - which are all about an hour away and filled to the brim with grumpy regulars.
At the Moose the games are self dealt, and almost exclusively tournaments. There are three (or four or five?) different 'groups' of folks who host tournament series through the year. I primarily play in the group called the Silver Lake Rounders which meets once a month for a $100 freeze out.
I played in this group exclusively for almost six months before my first cash, which believe it or not was for first place! I'd had such great time though with this bunch, that I hadn't become frustrated at all at not cashing for so long - I was super super happy to take a tournament down, but I never felt like saying "Finally" or anything like that.
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| Quads - easy game. |
You don't have to be a Moose Lodge member to play, anyone is welcome, but they certainly like to have more members. I hadn't really thought about joining, but then I learned that there was to be an end of the year "Moose Appreciation" tournament which had a $1000 guaranteed overlay, for Moose Lodge members only.
Sign me up!
I didn't cash, I don't think, but I was happy to have a Moose Lodge card and give some support to such a great fraternity of folks. And it's certainly not just men, at any given tournament there's a great variety of all kinds of people. They all have one thing in common, a love of the game!
******
So a year went by, and I cashed a few more times (and took down another tournament I believe) and then I had my second crack at the Moose 1K Overlay event and this time, I emerged on top somehow.
Now and hopefully for a long time, there is a dope trophy downstairs in a wall case in the main room - with none other than yours truly's name inscribed for all times! Noice!
So yes, at this point I've had my fair share of good results at the ol' Moose; but I have to say - even if I wasn't doing half as well, I would likely still keep coming back.
And sure, the pace of play is a bit slower - and as you all know that is my monster pet peeve; but I genuinely don't mind it, because it is what it is, and everyone's so gosh darn nice and there to socialize.
And it's FIVE MINUTES from where I live. This is really the ultimate killer app for the Moose. If I bust out early, it really isn't a big deal at all, I be home and Netflix and Chilling in no time. Gotta love it!
And yes, I would be neglectful of the truth were I not to mention that it is a mostly soft field, which is I have to confess, very appealing to me. :) But as with every poker group, no matter how seasoned or not, the players will adjust - and at this point they've all pretty much figured out I'm a crazy person who has no problem emptying the clip on occasion. No doubt my run good will cool down here soon, if it hasn't already.
I have tried, to little and no avail, to bring in other players from my home game. A couple have come, Fish and Sven both played and didn't cash and came back like once or twice - never to return again.
Both complained about sitting at the same table with a colorful character or two. Yes, there are some personalities at the Moose, but not one of them even comes close to the nasty neighbors you can find in California card rooms. Eccentric? Yes. Annoying? Only if you let them be. I find it's pretty easy to smile and drag chips, and before long they're not so annoying after all. I'm a little sad my poker buddies haven't taken to the Moose the way I have, but my wallet is certainly not sad at all. Don't need too many sharks in the pond!
So I don't know if I've ever mentioned it in this blog, I think I may have in my personal blog, that I love the city where I live very much - and now even more-so that I've found a poker home away from home. The Moose is a truly special place full of really good people, and I hope I play poker there for literally the rest of my life!
