It's Friday afternoon and I am sitting at my desk in my newspaper office when I get a phone call. The caller is my poker-playing buddy, Allan, and he has a proposition for me.
'Hey, Buddy, he says,' how's your poker playing?'
'Not bad although it could always be better. What's up?'
Alan tells me that Wild Horse Pass Casino near Chandler is hosting a H.O.R.S.E. poker tournament that evening and he asks if I want to play in it.
I tell him I never played H.O.R.S.E. before and ask him what's involved. He laughs out loud.
'It's the best poker action you can get,' he says. 'You start out playing a round of Texas Hold'em. Then the dealer changes games and deals a round of Omaha High-Low. That is followed by a round of Razz, then seven-card stud, and finally a round of seven-card stud high-low before you switch back to Hold'em. That's more action than anybody could hope for.'
I agreed with him. Although I am not great at Razz, I play all the other games and I play them pretty well. I agreed to meet him at the casino at 6 p.m.for a drink. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
I-10 out of Phoenix is overflowing with rush-hour traffic as I pull onto the freeway from 24th Street near Sky Harbor International Airport. I feel good and I am ready for poker. I especially like the idea that I will be playing a new kind of tournament. It sounds challenging and I like most of the games. I know I will have to adjust my play since some of the players will be expert in games like Razz and Stud, which I rarely play.
I have always liked Wild Horse Pass. The casino is not as large as Talking Stick where I usually play, but the poker room management and dealers are friendly. The casino features blackjack, another favorite game of mine, and they have a large auditorium where they offer concerts. In the past, Willie Nelson and other top country western stars have appeared in concert at the casino. It's going to be a great night, I tell myself.
As I wind my way through the heavy traffic, I tune into K.H.A.T. on my car radio and pick up Johnny Cash singing 'Orange Blossom Special.' I smile, remembering the interview I did with Cash when he appeared at the Arizona Coliseum some years before. He was very gracious and gave me all the time I needed to get a good story out of him. I wrote a piece on him for 'Country Style Magazine.'
The K.H.A.T. announcer does a commercial and then puts on a song by Glen Campbell. Yeah, I have fond memories of Campbell, who introduced his big song 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix' when he appeared at Mr. Lucky's, which used to be the largest country western night club in Phoenix. I met him that night and called up my friend Ray Odom, one of the owners of K.H.A.T. Ray came out to the club, interviewed Campbell, and started playing te song the next day, realizing it would be a huge hit.
I make it to Wild Horse Pass just before 6 p.m. Alan is waiting for me at the bar. I take a seat next to him and we agree to a 10 percent save if either of us finishes in the money.
My strong games are Omaha High-Low and seven-card stud high-low. I can also hold my own in Texas Hold'em and I am not bad at stud.
'Are you ready?' Alan says.
I tilt my bottle of Coors toward him. 'Is the Pope Catholic?'
The poker room is filled with people and the turnout for the H.O.R.S.E. tournament is good. The poker room manager comes up to me and thrusts out his hand.
'I don't know what to say. We are so overwhelmed at your presence...'
'Compliments will get you nowhere,' I say, smiling. 'Looks like you boys are finally doing something right for a chance. The turnout for this tournament is great.'
The tournament begins precisely on time. That's one of the things I appreciate about the Wild Horse Pass Casino. They start all their tournaments on time. I pay for my buy-in and draw my seat -- number three at table 16. Three is one of my favorite seats. The tournament begins.
Dealers really have to work in a tournament like H.O.R.S.E. They need to keep track of hands and make the smooth transition to the new games. I do well at Hold'em, better at Omaha High-Low. When it comes to Razz, I fumble a bit but keep my losses to a minimum. The stud game breaks even and I pick up some chips on seven-card stud high-low.
Chips change hands and my stack goes up and down. Alan is seated two tables away from me. I see he is doing well and we give each other a high-five.
We both make the 10-minute break and retire to the bar for a drink. He asks me how I feel.
'Fantastic,' I say. 'If we both make the final table, let's end the 10 percent agreement and just play for ourselves. Agreed?'
'Agreed.' We shake hands on it.
The hours pass. Ten p.m. Eleven p.m.
At midnight we are down to two tables and both Alan and me are near chip leaders. One by one the players drop out until there are only 10 players left. Alan and I are two of those players.
Before we play for the money, the poker room manager gives us another break and Alan and I have another drink. Then we take our seats. The dealer shuffles the deck and starts dealing. We hang in there and Alan is the first one to lose his stack. He finishes in fifth place. I congratulate him as he leaves the table. I last a little longer and wind up fourth. Both of us receive a nice payoff.
As we head for the parking lot, a huge Arizona moon shines overhead. In the distance, I hear what sounds like the cry of a coyote.
'Thanks for inviting me, Buddy,' I say. 'It was fun.' And off I go into the night.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
