Speaking only a little French (but improving!!!) I thought it would be fun to go play poker for money with strangers in a city I had never been to before.
From the internet, I learned that the only real game within driving distance is in Aix en Provence ("Aix")-- about a 90 minute drive from Vaison. (Aix is only about 20 miles from Marseille, the second biggest city in France, but poker isn't allowed in Marseille. So lots of people from Marseille go to Aix to play.)
I decided to go Saturday. I packed a poker bag: cell phone (with navigation device!), passport, camera, French-English dictionary and chicken sandwich for the drive.
I left Vaison a little before 5:00 p.m.:
I decided to go Saturday. I packed a poker bag: cell phone (with navigation device!), passport, camera, French-English dictionary and chicken sandwich for the drive.
I left Vaison a little before 5:00 p.m.:
It was an easy drive to Aix:
In Aix, I was correctly guided to my destination by a benevolent voice from the heavens:
Then I was there!
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| The Biggest Poker Room in France?! |
What would it be like? Would it be like an American poker room?
Well, like everything else, it was the same except where it was different. For one thing, unlike in America, you can't just walk into the poker room. First, I had to go through a special room -- an airlock of sorts -- where I had to show my passport and have it scanned with some sort of machine. (I knew something like this would happen which was why I was prepared with the passport). Then I got to go inside. I went up to another desk and showed my passport again. I had practiced my French: "Good evening. I would like to play poker. Is there a table?" She put my name on a list. About 15 minutes later she called me over to Table 4, Seat 8. I asked, "Where do I buy chips?" (saying "cheeeps" for "chips" and figuring I would be understood). She told me. Then I sat down. I was playing by 7:00 p.m.
Everyone was welcoming. The room was really nice . . . a lot more formal than most of the rooms I've played in the the U.S. You can't be in the room unless you have a seat, which cuts down on the number of people who just wander around. All of the players were nice to me, as were the dealers. People were better dressed than in the states, and instead of eating french fries and drinking coke at the table, people drank little tiny cups of coffee and there were individual pots of tea.
I resolved to play extra tight for a while while I picked up the lingo. I thought I could just sit there for a while and fold hands while I watched. Unfortunately, I was dealt pocket kings about three hands into the session so those plans had to go away. No big deal. In poker you don't really have to know the language too well . . . I've played with lots of people who speak little English. You just put your chips in as appropriate. (The exception being when you don't have correct change. For example, when you want to bet 15 Euros but only have 50 Euro chips. Then you need to announce the bet as you put the chip in).
Anyway, back to the little differences: they play with 10 players instead of 9; the table is marked a little differently so that each players has a designated space; the burn card is done slightly differently; and there is a little calculator built into the table so that the dealer can compute the house "rake" (which is higher than in the U.S. where every pot has a maximum "rake" regardless of size).
A few observations about language: I try never to speak English unless "invited" and I'm getting to the point where I can string a few words together to roughly resemble a sentence (I'm very proud!!). But the minute I say a single word, everyone knows I'm American. There's no mistaking my accent . . . it never fails to amaze me. Why can't I be mistaken for being British? French people tell me there's no comparison . . . they say it sounds like we're talking while chewing gum! Anyway, the poker players and dealers were very amused by my efforts. And I will confess to saying a few foolish things or butchering the words so badly that everyone laughed at me. But I was having too much fun to care.
The dealers all spoke some English (some fluently) and they were kind enough to help me with some of the numbers. And let me tell you this: There is NO better way to learn your numbers (I find them very hard) than playing poker!! You've got to totally concentrate, and then you listen to the bet, and then you can look at the guy's chips and check yourself to see if you were right. So I think I made some progress with my numbers. (At dinner Sunday evening I told Ford and Asha I'd pay them 5 cents for every time they stumped me with a number between 1 and 100. And I only had to pay out 15 cents!). (As far as the poker lingo is concerned, "check" is "check." "Call" is usually "payer" or "avec." "Fold" is "passe." "All in" is "tapis" (carpet in French)).
There were about 8 full tables in the room. At about midnight they brought out plates of delicious little French cookies. That was a nice touch. I left about 1:30, as a very small winner on the night, returning to Vaison a little after 3:00. It was a totally satisfying night.
Now for some other updates:
We satisfied a craving by going to lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant in Vaison one afternoon last week:
Well, like everything else, it was the same except where it was different. For one thing, unlike in America, you can't just walk into the poker room. First, I had to go through a special room -- an airlock of sorts -- where I had to show my passport and have it scanned with some sort of machine. (I knew something like this would happen which was why I was prepared with the passport). Then I got to go inside. I went up to another desk and showed my passport again. I had practiced my French: "Good evening. I would like to play poker. Is there a table?" She put my name on a list. About 15 minutes later she called me over to Table 4, Seat 8. I asked, "Where do I buy chips?" (saying "cheeeps" for "chips" and figuring I would be understood). She told me. Then I sat down. I was playing by 7:00 p.m.
Everyone was welcoming. The room was really nice . . . a lot more formal than most of the rooms I've played in the the U.S. You can't be in the room unless you have a seat, which cuts down on the number of people who just wander around. All of the players were nice to me, as were the dealers. People were better dressed than in the states, and instead of eating french fries and drinking coke at the table, people drank little tiny cups of coffee and there were individual pots of tea.
I resolved to play extra tight for a while while I picked up the lingo. I thought I could just sit there for a while and fold hands while I watched. Unfortunately, I was dealt pocket kings about three hands into the session so those plans had to go away. No big deal. In poker you don't really have to know the language too well . . . I've played with lots of people who speak little English. You just put your chips in as appropriate. (The exception being when you don't have correct change. For example, when you want to bet 15 Euros but only have 50 Euro chips. Then you need to announce the bet as you put the chip in).
Anyway, back to the little differences: they play with 10 players instead of 9; the table is marked a little differently so that each players has a designated space; the burn card is done slightly differently; and there is a little calculator built into the table so that the dealer can compute the house "rake" (which is higher than in the U.S. where every pot has a maximum "rake" regardless of size).
A few observations about language: I try never to speak English unless "invited" and I'm getting to the point where I can string a few words together to roughly resemble a sentence (I'm very proud!!). But the minute I say a single word, everyone knows I'm American. There's no mistaking my accent . . . it never fails to amaze me. Why can't I be mistaken for being British? French people tell me there's no comparison . . . they say it sounds like we're talking while chewing gum! Anyway, the poker players and dealers were very amused by my efforts. And I will confess to saying a few foolish things or butchering the words so badly that everyone laughed at me. But I was having too much fun to care.
The dealers all spoke some English (some fluently) and they were kind enough to help me with some of the numbers. And let me tell you this: There is NO better way to learn your numbers (I find them very hard) than playing poker!! You've got to totally concentrate, and then you listen to the bet, and then you can look at the guy's chips and check yourself to see if you were right. So I think I made some progress with my numbers. (At dinner Sunday evening I told Ford and Asha I'd pay them 5 cents for every time they stumped me with a number between 1 and 100. And I only had to pay out 15 cents!). (As far as the poker lingo is concerned, "check" is "check." "Call" is usually "payer" or "avec." "Fold" is "passe." "All in" is "tapis" (carpet in French)).
There were about 8 full tables in the room. At about midnight they brought out plates of delicious little French cookies. That was a nice touch. I left about 1:30, as a very small winner on the night, returning to Vaison a little after 3:00. It was a totally satisfying night.
Now for some other updates:
We satisfied a craving by going to lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant in Vaison one afternoon last week:
You might think that with only one Asian food restaurant in town it wouldn't have to be good. But it was! Here's how one reviewer described it:
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| "It was so good that my eyes spontaneously shut!" |
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| Ford in Front Row, Far Right |
Asha got punished at school (she asserts that it was unjust) and had to write, "I will write my homework in silence and prepare my affairs with calmness" 20 times:
These are our friends, Dmitri and Sylvie Benet with their daughter Jessica and their son Nicholas:
They came to the house for dinner Friday night (Ford and Nicholas are in the same class). They're really nice.
Asha mailed a letter:
For those of you who have been on pins and needles, the February school lunch menu is out:
Le General has decided she would like to experience the joy of picking weights up off the ground and putting them down again, over and over:
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| "I Love Lifting Weights! Thank You for Taking Me to the Gym Ed!!" |
Ivy loves spending time with the neighborhood cat (Celina):
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| "How Did She Get Up There??" |
And she sleeps in these absurd postures:
It's been very cold:
Asha got a new dance instructor:
And it's Ed's mother Ronnie's birthday next week.
Happy Birthday Mom! Love, Edwin
So how did that KK hand turn out? Making my usual Vegas trip in March. As always, you are welcome if you are in the states but I expect not. All the best to the whole crew. It was fun to show Kate the table in Vaison where she has had dinner as a baby.
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