I picked up 3 more shifts next week to go from working 2 nights to 5. I feel like I almost have a real job.
One Year Ago Today
I mentioned another one of my “movie pairs” that I often forget, although it was the first one I recognized. In case you don’t know or remember, movie pairs are two movies that came out in the same year and have very similar plots. Observe and Report and Paul Blart: Mall Cop are two good examples of a movie pair because they both are about mall security. I don’t think I’ve ever come across another movie with that premise, and these were two movies in the same year. So the original one that I thought of was Antz and A Bug’s Life because they’re both animated movies about little bugs, and both came out in 1998. Then in a separate post that followed a couple days ago I told all the events of the Dating Game, also known as my “Calgary” story.
My Day
I summoned the willpower to not just shut off my alarm, and I got up within five minutes of it. But since the guys were working on the bathroom I didn’t get out of bed for another two hours, and I watched a bunch of late night shows. But I kind of regret it because this proved to be a long day (for me) and I would have rather just kept sleeping. Plus, when the guys finished working I saw that there was a note on the bathroom door that said we couldn’t use the bathroom until noon tomorrow because of some sealant or whatever. That sucked because I sat in my room for hours waiting to shower, and it figures they do this (without warning) on the rare day I have to work.
So then later Brian and I went into work an hour later than usual, and it was really busy in there again. I really don’t understand it because the conditions seem the same as like a month or two ago, but it was terribly slow before. I managed to avoid the tournament all night, and I stayed a full shift and had 11 downs I believe.
Like getting lucky to avoid the tournament, I dealt $500 max early and it was alright. I did start with two breaks in the first hour and a half, but after that things really picked up. I got to deal $5-$10 no-limit which is a rare game, but it was amazing. Everyone was tipping, and I got two redbirds. Then one guy won a big pot, and he tipped me $15. He busted someone, and that player was down to his last $6 in white chips, and since those don’t play in that game he passed them to each player. They were nice and gave them to me, which that guy should have just done, but I was happy they did it for him. I figured I got somewhere between $10 and $20 besides those five redbirds, which means I made about $40-$50 that down alone. I’m sure that’s my best down ever, although I have had another that was good too.
When I left the player who hooked me up told me to tell the next dealer that he was good, so I said “Number 9 is good” but I corrected myself a little and said “Seat 9 is a good man.” I wish I had said “The gentleman in Seat 9…” to sound better, but I’m glad I figured out how to word it instead of blatantly say “Hit Seat 9” like dealers sometimes do.
I also got to deal $20-$40 next (after a break in the middle), and I was lucky because there were only three players and they decided to keep playing for another half hour. Otherwise I would have just lost out on any money that down. Because there were only three players and they play fast in limit, I did very well that down too. I got either $1 or $2 every single hand, and I must have dealt one hand a minute so I had to have made like $35 I figure. When I got done with that down one of the players (this Asian kid probably in his late 20s who always wears a suit, whom I like) said, “You haven’t worked here all that long right?” I told him 9 months, and he said that I was getting better. I could have taken it to mean that when I started he thought I was really bad, but I chose to take it as a compliment. He said that they like fast dealers, which I knew but it implied that I was fast and he liked that. So that made me happy.
Those two great downs made up at least the first one where I only made $10, because I made $220 in 11 downs which is an average of exactly $20 a down. That’s the high mark I shoot for, so tonight was great in hours, individual tips, and averages. I also picked up three more days of work next week, so I went from two days to five days. I’ll have Tuesday and Wednesday nights off, but I’m scheduled to work the other five days and feel like I have a real job. Then we drove back home, and I was there by 5am and now I’m going to bed at 7am just like I figured. So thanks for reading, “And stay away from squirrels!”
—Eric Del Medico
