Day One

I'll never have a chance again to deal the first hand of my career as a professional poker dealer, so here it is:

My assignment is "Live Action" as opposed to "Tournaments" or "Satellites". That means that I am to deal a regular cash game. Not a tournament with a prize pool or chips with $1000 written on them but worth nothing, but a true cash game where players use casino chips and hundred dollar bills and may join the game or leave it at any time. True poker. Table stakes, meaning that a player has at risk the amount of money they put on the table at the start of the hand. A player can buy more chips or add cash to his stack between hands but not during a hand.

The game is No Limit Texas Hold'em and the blinds are $2 and $5. There are nine seats at the table for players and this table is full.

My first hand:

The dealer button (which indicates the player last to act throughout the betting rounds for this hand) is at the #9 seat on my immediate right. Seat #1 on my left puts out the $2 small blind and Seat #2 places a $5 chip for the big blind. As I shuffle and deal the first two down cards, seat #9 puts two $5 chips on the button. This is known as a "Mississippi Straddle". It is an optional bet, considered a raise, available to the player on the button. Play then begins at the small blind. Seat #1 calls. The big blind calls. Three others call the $10 bet and it is back to the straddler who has the option to raise. As I am about to say, "Option." Seat #9 (I was told his name was Mike Hirschensohn) says, "Raise! Seventy!" And he tosses another $60 in red $5 chips out in front of his position. In turn, each player looks at their cards again, shakes their head and tosses them into the middle, folding their hand and giving up on their $10 earlier calls. I gather up the orphaned bets and slide them over to Mike who wins the hand without even seeing a flop. Mike tosses me a dollar tip and folds his hand face up showing everyone that was holding the two black Jacks.

That's it! My first hand as a professional poker dealer. It contained a "Straddle on the button," a big pot sized raise and it was over before the flop. I guess I will have to save that chip.