You meet the most interesting people in the card rooms of Las Vegas.
And so on a weekend, I peered up to see a amiable, middle-aged black man wearing the obligatory gold jewelry.
He took some beats early but took them with a smile and bought more chips.
Wasn’t running particularly well myself so I moved to a seat next to him. We exchanged a few pleasantries, and the cocktail server set down a libation next to him.
Didn’t recognize it so between hands I asked him what it was.
“Alabama slammer,” he politely replied.
I picked up K-Q offsuit on the next lap and limped along with my friend to my right and six other callers.
The flop came down Q-10-x. It was checked to me, and I had no qualms about leading into the field with top pair, second nut kicker. Virtually everyone came along for the ride.
The turn paired the 10, and my friend to the right led into me. That normally meant one thing and only one thing — he held a 10 in the pocket.
I briefly glanced at him. He smiled in return and took a sip from his Alabama slammer.
For some reason — perhaps the size of the pot — I felt compelled to call, and my hand slid some chips into the pot.
The dealer burned and turned: And one more 10 fell.
I again glanced at the gentleman to my right and he dutifully overreacted to the Q-10-x-10-10 board.
And then he checked.
Suddenly proud of a hand that was 10s full of queens, I took the initiative. Only to be greeted by a check-raise.
That of course meant one thing and only one thing: He had four 10s.
I dutifully called, he flipped up 10-4, raked the pot and took another sip from his drink.
There’s all kinds of lessons here, most of which are painfully obvious.
But the key takeaway might be how to make an Alabama slammer. Here’s how it goes:
1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1/2 oz Southern Comfort® peach liqueur
1/2 oz sloe gin
1 splash orange juice
1 splash sweet and sour mix
Pour above ingredients into a stainless steel shaker over ice and shake until completely cold. Strain into an old-fashioned glass and serve.
One other thing: Never, ever call when it’s obvious you’re beat.
