Travel With Me … Vancouver and Windsor - Part II

In my last column I gave you a little background history of the game of hold'em in Toronto. I also promised that I'd share my poker-playing experiences from other cities, as well. So, without further ado, our next stop is the lovely city of Vancouver.

I certainly couldn't be considered an expert or historian concerning poker in Vancouver, as I've spent only a week there. However, the week I spent there was a memorable one for me.

The purpose of my trip wasn't really to play poker; I was meeting a girl there, whom I'd met in Toronto, for a week of fun. Since she was so intrigued by the game, I ended up spending a few more hours playing poker than I'd planned. I had expected to see the sights, take in a show, and soak up some of the atmosphere - but she got excited about calling the Lumberman's and hearing the news that Fat Larry was in the $20-$40 game! OK, it wasn't my idea of the perfect date, but I could think of worse things I could be doing than playing in a $20-$40 game with Fat Larry.

The Lumberman's was yet another of those quasi-legal clubs I've played in. It was a place where everybody knew everybody and the games went round-the-clock. Having never been there before, I felt a little bit like an outsider, but the regulars there were nice enough. Telling them I was from Toronto didn't help much, though; I think it's a hockey rivalry thing - I dunno.

Anyway, I was probably around 19 or 20 years old when I went to Vancouver, so I'd still never seen how a tough Vegas-style game played out. After about an hour, though, I could tell that some of these guys had played in Vegas, while others were regulars at the Muckleshoot poker club across the border in Seattle. This was obviously much tougher competition than the Toronto games I'd been accustomed to.

The game was good, though - after all, we always had Fat Larry. The play was a little tighter than I would have liked, and the players were more aggressive than I was used to; it was no Toronto.

Well, one day I finally convinced Christina to show me around town a little. We walked around the city for a while, and suddenly took a detour through the Great Canadian (a casino) on our way to the movies. And wouldn't you know it - it had a poker room. Something told me we weren't going to make it to the movies. One woman can't get enough poker, while the other can't stand the idea of my playing poker for a living. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Anyway, the poker room had $5-$10, $10-$20, and $15-$30 games. The games there reminded me a whole lot more of the Toronto games than did those at the Lumberman's - lots of missed bets, and loose play. Yum-yum, these were my kind of games.

Christina was a nice girl, but we didn't have a lot in common outside of poker. I haven't heard from her since, and haven't been back there since.

Our last Canadian stop will be Windsor, Ontario, where I spent an entire month playing poker at "Farmer Jim's" club, the quasi-legal Windsor Social Club. I stayed at the Ramada Inn right across the street from the casino, with my roommate for the month, a friend from home, Evelyn.

It was the first time I'd ever been in a real casino, and I'm glad it happened while I was young and had zero responsibilities! For some reason, I was obsessed with the idea that I could beat the game "Let it Ride." When that didn't work, I developed a system to beat roulette - OK, the Martingale roulette system has its flaws; oops! All in all, I was glad I dumped so much money in the casino, because at the age of 19, I was through with the casino pit completely.

Anyway, inasmuch as I'd lost most of my bankroll in the casino, I figured it was about time to scrounge up some money and get to work at the poker tables. At Farmer Jim's, there was just one game, which was either $10-$20 or $15-$30, depending on who was stuck. These guys were more experienced than the players in Toronto, but many of them routinely played 20- to 30-hour sessions!

I did OK in those games, but the fact that I came into them mentally stuck certainly hurt my results. Playing to get my "Let it Ride" money back wasn't exactly the best frame of mind to be in when playing a game I'd never played before - Omaha high. Luckily for me, Evelyn had brought enough money to pay the hotel bill, and already had figured out that roulette probably wasn't the best investment we could make with our last $1,000.

Windsor was a good training ground for me. It was my first taste of "life on the road." It was my first taste of living in a hotel and being a road gambler, if you will. It was a very fun and exciting time for me, and would prepare me for my eventual journeys to the United States when I was old enough to play there. More importantly, it was my first introduction to the temptation of casino gambling - a temptation I'd be faced with for the rest of my life. Luckily, I learned young how important it was going to be for me to protect my bankroll, and avoid high-risk situations like casino games.

In Part III, we are going to cross the border and head to Las Vegas, Connecticut, Los Angeles.