Tao of Poker

Gambling in Byron Bay

We rented a car and drove from Surfer's Paradise to Byron Bay. There's a north-south time zone change because Queenslad does not honor daylight savings time. The drive was fun and Byron Bay is spectacular. We're staying in a hotel with beach access but no internet. Shecky is a friggin' junkie and has to be connected every few hours or gets the shakes. He's a workaholic.

We played two sessions of Chinese Poker. It's dealers choice which means whoever loses the previous hand has to shuffle and deal, but they have the option for straight Chinese Poker or having a 2-7 Lowball hand added to the middle. I never deal 2-7. Up against Brandon and Shecky... I'm at a disadvantage.

"Dude, if you wanna play high stakes Chinese Poker in Vegas for $100/point... you have to play 2-7," said Brandon.

"When the fuck am I ever gonna play high stakes 2-7 Triple Draw with Hellmuth and Gavin Smith?" I barked back.

He laughed because he's still ahead. But overall Brandon's rush seems to have subsided. When we left the Gold Coast, he had a 102 point lead over me and 126 point lead over Shecky. We played at dinner at a beach side joint with the Maria Sharapova tennis match on the big screen. Shecky went on a rush and I got my junked kicked in kangaroo style.

Brandon +66
Shecky -22
Pauly -54

We headed back to our motel and played in the room while we drank. I got dealt a sick hand with a royal flush, a full house, and trips up top. Sadly... it was a 2-7 round and I had to give up the boat in the middle. When the late session was over, I was stuck.

Brandon +70
Shecky -26
Pauly -44

We're in Byron Bay for one more day. We only have today left to play three-handed. Shecky leaves us tomorrow morning and heads back to Melbourne while Brandon and I will be taking the train to Sydney. I hope to get unstuck on the train ride down the coast playing an EPT champion heads-up.

Jules and Graham told me to go play poker at Star City in Sydney. The rake is spastic but the players are horrible. Can't wait. Oh, and we're staying in a hostel near the redlight district. Hijinks will ensue.