"Keep your weaknesses to yourself and work on them in private. Never expose your back to a poker player."
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Joey's eyes were wide as saucers. Everywhere he looked, there were games! He was standing in line at the check-in desk, but even from there, he could see machines and gaming tables extending to the horizon.
The casino was one huge, wide open space. Chandeliers hung off the high ceilings, held up by massive columns at regular intervals. The most noticeable thing was the noise. Two seconds didn't pass before a slot machine somewhere let out loud sounds and bright lights from the person playing on it. People sat at these machines in every direction. The casino was packed.
Amy handed everyone key cards to their rooms. The room matchups were: Amy and Ellie, Andrew and Pedro, and Joey and Anwar. Joey looked over at Andrew and thought to himself, 'Sorry bro.' He had already bribed Amy outside, telling her he would get her the new Harry Potter DVD as long as she didn't put him in a room with Pedro. He was thinking ahead on account of not wanting to get molested.
They made their way up the elevator to their rooms. Joey had never stayed in such a nice hotel room, but just like everyone else, he didn't come here to watch TV. They all dropped off their bags and met downstairs in the poker room. Anwar led the way. Joey knew he was getting close as he heard the familiar sounds of poker chips. Poker was the only casino game where players routinely made those clacking noises by playing with their chips and splashing them on the table.
When Joey saw it, his jaw dropped. Dozens of tables, hundreds of people. There were half a dozen TVs hanging from the ceiling at various locations, each showing a different sport. He felt like a kid in a candy store. Looking around, it seemed like him and Anwar arrived first so they waited for the others. They didn't have to wait long for Amy to announce their arrival.
"GODJIIRRRAAA!"
Joey turned around and saw Amy pointing at a random tall man. His height wasn't anything record-breaking, but it seemed to be above Amy's cutoff. After stumbling backward, the man walked away, hunching with his head down, unsure why he felt ashamed.
When the whole group got together, Andrew explained to Joey how things worked. Like Pocket Rockets, there were many games with different stakes here. Everyone had to add their names to a waiting list which was managed by desk staff. When a seat in a game opened up, their name would be called over the loudspeaker. Then he took Joey to get a player's card.
Each player carried a card that tracked their play in poker and other casino games. If you played enough, your account would show it and the casino might offer you comps such as free rooms and meals. In poker, each player would get a couple of dollars in comps per hour that they could save up and use on free food. With the logistics out of the way, they all went and signed up to their respective games.
Andrew and Ellie played bigger games, while Anwar and Pedro played 1-2. Joey and Amy played 2-5 and were both on that waiting list. Within an hour, both of them were called and joined the same table. This was actually Joey's first time properly watching Amy play. He'd seen her play at Angelo's but it was usually for a short time. Moreover, they never had a chance to play together because Angelo's game typically only ever needed one dealer to fill in as a player.
Since he never expected to play against her, he hadn't bothered burning mental energy to observe her. As they both sat down and started playing, Joey began studying the opponents, including Amy. The players here were pretty good, probably a similar level to those at Pocket Rockets. The most difficult opponent ended up being Amy.
First, he immediately noticed that her feelings when playing poker were...unconventional. If he had to describe them, he guessed it would be similar to tripping on a hallucinogenic. 'Nope...nope.' Trying to understand her mind and emotions would only drive him insane. He tried observing her with a more standard approach of analyzing her play, but was stumped when she would occasionally make completely baffling statements under her breath:
"You're dead now Jar Jar."
"Gandalf the grey? More like Gandalf the broke."
"Buzz Lightyear, I'll send you back down to Earth."
...
The sick part was that she was winning. She was actually doing better than Joey. The other players seemed even more lost and confused than he was. 'What's happening?' Joey windered. During a bathroom break, he finally had a chance to ask Amy what all those comments were about.
She described her poker strategy to him. She would watch the players a bit and then assign them a character she was familiar with. When she was in a hand with that player, she would ask herself "Would X character do this?" Then she would respond accordingly.
'How is that a functional strategy?' Joey shook his head. 'Forget it, this girl lives in an alternate dimension.' He went back to playing his game and targetting the players from Earth.
At one point, the whole group from Angelo's went to get dinner together at a restaurant inside the casino. It was paid for by his comp dollars which Joey appreciated. At one point, Andrew was speaking about some poker topics Joey hadn't heard about yet.
"When you're in a situation where you have the option of playing at multiple tables, a smart player practices game selection and chooses the best game. Basically, you want to play in the game with the worst players. That's where you'll have the highest expected win rate. It's common in a place like this that has dozens of tables running at once. There are also some more advanced types of game selection. Did you see that I actually went from playing 5-10 to 2-5 earlier?"
Joey nodded. He indeed noticed that and found it unusual.
"That's not because I was losing. That's cause the 5-10 game wasn't good and the 2-5 game looked much better. Not only did I expect to make more in the 2-5 game, but my risk of loss was also much lower since it was a smaller buyin. Even many pros are hesitant to make this kind of downward move because they're very concerned about their egos and image. They always want to play in the biggest game they can. The thing is, when you play for money, it's not about being in the biggest game, but the best game..." Andrew paused to eat his chicken before continuing.
"Another example that applies not only here but to all games is considering not playing at all. I'll paraphrase a quote I heard somewhere: you could be the 10th best player in the world, but if your table has the 9 players better than you, you're going to lose. That shows that sometimes the best play is to not play at all. If your only option is a game that looks bad or mediocre, you're better off waiting or doing something else entirely," Andrew finished giving advice.
'He's right,' Joey thought. It was all very intuitive. Many players probably understand these concepts but understanding and doing are two different things. Even Joey had to admit he didn't always act by these kinds of "Professional tactics."
After dinner, the group made their way back to the poker room. They chatted as they waited for seats to open up in their respective games. Right now, only Pedro, Joey, and Ellie were still waiting, standing at the side and watching the games. Suddenly, the entire casino became pitch black. No one could see a thing. There had been a thunderstorm outside and it knocked the power out.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
A girl screamed right next to Joey and jumped forward to hold onto him. He felt two soft mounds on his back. His face immediately turned slightly red. 'This...' He didn't know what he should say to her. 'I didn't know Ellie was scared of the dark. This feels pretty good though. Hopefully, the power stays out a long time.' After a few moments, the backup generator went on, displaying low light throughout the casino. 'Damn...I was hoping it would be longer,' Joey cursed as he glanced over his shoulder to look at her.
There he saw, with scared wet eyes, the sensitive and frightened face of Pedro.
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"GET OFF ME MAN TITTIES!!!"