Know When to Fold 'Em

so, work today was ultra-hectic and actually pretty stressful. usually no matter how much work there is i'm able to keep a pretty clear head and not get too stressed out ... but late in the day i just had to get out of the house to relax.

i decided to check out the River Rock Casino, which i've never been to despite the fact that it's 10 minutes from our house. figured i'd relax for a while with some video poker and slots, and maybe spend some time at pai gow poker.

usually with pai gow, you can spend hours at the table without winning or losing too much. more often than not, you're going to push with the dealer ... and this can make your money last a really long time.

let's just say it didn't work that way today. minimum bet on this table was $25 (which doesn't scare me away with this game), and i played a total of 3 hands, got complete crap cards in each, and blew through $100 in less than five minutes. i've never seen that happen before at pai gow ... and of course it happened to me on the day when i'd hoped to use the game to unwind for a while.

in a rare moment of clarity, i was able to walk right by the ATM and out to my car after this. the way i normally am in casinos ... it could have been a lot more painful.