cafreythebulldog 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 It is officially listed as Dutch, but believe me when I tell you the official language in Aruba is Spanish. Just got back from my honeymoon and while there I decided that I'd pay for the trip by playing a little 4-8 hold-em. The game is the same with one exception, you can bet 4 or 8 on the flop and if someones decides to bet 4 on the flop you can raise to 12. So my first night there I turn my $200 into $400 relatively easily when our two tables of limit poker start to break down. Before I knew it it was down to one table with myself and 3 native Arubans...alll speaking spanish to each other and laughing it up. After a few minutes one Asian guy asks if I'd like to switch the game to 2-2 no-limit. I oblige. Within 20 minutes I am close to the felt from my orignal $400 when we started as I was being called down with everything i.e. bottom pair draws out on my top 2 with trips. I get called by a flush draw getting less than 3-1 on his money and his queen high holds up (o.k. I was trying to make a good move and it backfired) Anyways I felt the fix was in for a while and they were trying to sandwich me when i was down to my last $120 when I pick up 2 black aces in the BB. Asian guys raises to 12 form the button and I smooth call. Flop comes K,10, 8 rainbow. he bets 20. I smooth call. Turn comes 4 all rainbow now. He bets $40. I move in. He calls and flips up 8,9 off you guys know the river comes 9 I get up swallow hard and walk back to my room while they have a good laugh and start to chop up my $400 amongst themselves. The next day while playing limit again with the same dealer I take down 3 big pots in a row and don't tip the dealer. One of the players asks me why I don't tip the guy who just dealt me 2 nut flushes and a set and I tell him he still owes me a few hundred for letting the three guys gang up on me the night earlier and the dealer pratically admits to me that the Arubans only cared about busting me and chopping my $$. He told me he asked them to stop announcing their hands to each other in spanish but they didn't listen. Oh well. Lesson learned. After that he started to get tipped again because I felt better knowing that. I ended the week up $1400 playing poker and got $100 bonus and a tee-shirt for my straight flush the last night there. Any one else see any of this happening anywhere before in other countries? Link to post Share on other sites
turd ferguson 1 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 So you won a t-shirt? Nice. Link to post Share on other sites
drugrunnerz 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Where was your wife on your honeymoon? Link to post Share on other sites
turd ferguson 1 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Where was your wife on your honeymoon? In the bedroom pleasuring herself. Of course by "pleasuring herself" I mean "having sex with her scuba instructor." Link to post Share on other sites
cafreythebulldog 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 Indeed she was. It was quite fun to watch. The Scuba instrcutors leg may not heal quite right but whatever. Link to post Share on other sites
PMJackson21 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 It is officially listed as Dutch, but believe me when I tell you the official language in Aruba is Spanish. Just got back from my honeymoon and while there I decided that I'd pay for the trip by playing a little 4-8 hold-em. The game is the same with one exception, you can bet 4 or 8 on the flop and if someones decides to bet 4 on the flop you can raise to 12. So my first night there I turn my $200 into $400 relatively easily when our two tables of limit poker start to break down. Before I knew it it was down to one table with myself and 3 native Arubans...alll speaking spanish to each other and laughing it up. After a few minutes one Asian guy asks if I'd like to switch the game to 2-2 no-limit. I oblige. Within 20 minutes I am close to the felt from my orignal $400 when we started as I was being called down with everything i.e. bottom pair draws out on my top 2 with trips. I get called by a flush draw getting less than 3-1 on his money and his queen high holds up (o.k. I was trying to make a good move and it backfired) Anyways I felt the fix was in for a while and they were trying to sandwich me when i was down to my last $120 when I pick up 2 black aces in the BB. Asian guys raises to 12 form the button and I smooth call. Flop comes K,10, 8 rainbow. he bets 20. I smooth call. Turn comes 4 all rainbow now. He bets $40. I move in. He calls and flips up 8,9 off you guys know the river comes 9 I get up swallow hard and walk back to my room while they have a good laugh and start to chop up my $400 amongst themselves. The next day while playing limit again with the same dealer I take down 3 big pots in a row and don't tip the dealer. One of the players asks me why I don't tip the guy who just dealt me 2 nut flushes and a set and I tell him he still owes me a few hundred for letting the three guys gang up on me the night earlier and the dealer pratically admits to me that the Arubans only cared about busting me and chopping my $$. He told me he asked them to stop announcing their hands to each other in spanish but they didn't listen. Oh well. Lesson learned. After that he started to get tipped again because I felt better knowing that. I ended the week up $1400 playing poker and got $100 bonus and a tee-shirt for my straight flush the last night there. Any one else see any of this happening anywhere before in other countries?What poker room was this at? The Wyndham for instance, has a sign that says 'English, Spanish. and Papamiento only at the tables. A dealer will translate upon request' or some such. If you had a problem with them speaking their language, then you should have gone to the floor. The last night I was there, there was an older gentlemen (at least 90) who threw a fit for the same reason, and got up and left. Understandable I suppose, but the funny thing was he spoke fluent spanish. If you knew what they were saying, I don't see how it would bother you. Even better if they are ignorant of the fact that you can understand what they are saying. I speak enough spanish (so 3 years in HS was useful for something) that I never felt uncomfortable with what they were talking about.Anyway, you just have to realize that you are not in the United States, so you are going to run into situations like this. If if makes you uncomfortable, then find a table that doesn't.Besides this incident, I hope you enjoyed your stay. I sure hope you made it over to El Gaucho for dinner at least once. Incredible steaks.Patrick Link to post Share on other sites
drugrunnerz 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Turned out to be a pretty awful honeymoon. I feel really bad. Link to post Share on other sites
turd ferguson 1 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Indeed she was. It was quite fun to watch. The Scuba instrcutors leg may not heal quite right but whatever.Wow! A newb that can differentiate between a joke and a personal insult! I'm impressed. Well done sir. Welcome to the forum. Link to post Share on other sites
drugrunnerz 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Indeed she was. It was quite fun to watch. The Scuba instrcutors leg may not heal quite right but whatever.Wow! A newb that can differentiate between a joke and a personal insult! I'm impressed. Well done sir. Welcome to the forum.:clap: Link to post Share on other sites
cafreythebulldog 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 It was at the Raddison. I actually met the guy who founded the Poker Room. Real nice guy from Arkansas who lives down there now named Mason. We talked a little bit about the poker room came about and said it was a joint business venture between himself and the Raddison. It seemed like he used himself as a prop player as well as a couple others but they just seemed to keep action in the game which was refreshing. Link to post Share on other sites
PMJackson21 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 It was at the Raddison. I actually met the guy who founded the Poker Room. Real nice guy from Arkansas who lives down there now named Mason. We talked a little bit about the poker room came about and said it was a joint business venture between himself and the Raddison. It seemed like he used himself as a prop player as well as a couple others but they just seemed to keep action in the game which was refreshing.Yeah, he and his brother started it if I recall correctly...Seemed like a nice enough guy. The dealers were horrible, unless you got lucky enough to have one of the UB tourney dealers at your table (they would take shifts at night too). I lost count of how many times I saw a dealer ignore the BB's option to check or raise, and just dealt the flop.Also, the 'natives' you were playing against were most likely Venezuelans, not Arubans.Patrick Link to post Share on other sites
cafreythebulldog 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 Yes I can see how the dealers become creatures of habit by the way the natives play. If they got into a heads up pot with each other and one of them called a bet on the flop they would just checked it all the way down no matter how big of a hand they had. Top2, a set, flush it didn't matter they just wouldn't play against each other. Congrats on your finish down there by the way Patrick I was rooting for you. Link to post Share on other sites
PMJackson21 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Yes I can see how the dealers become creatures of habit by the way the natives play. If they got into a heads up pot with each other and one of them called a bet on the flop they would just checked it all the way down no matter how big of a hand they had. Â Top2, a set, flush it didn't matter they just wouldn't play against each other. Congrats on your finish down there by the way Patrick I was rooting for you.Thank you sir. :-) I'm still disappointed I didn't make the final 6, but I could have just as easily been out in 22nd or so, or even early on day 2. I was lucky to grind out my short stack as far as I did.Aruba was a blast though...I probably enjoyed it mroe because I was doing well in the tournament, but even without that it was a great time.Congratulations on your marriage. I was down there an extra day due to limited flights out, and I met at least 6 newlywed couples sitting at the bar watching football. Patrick Link to post Share on other sites
GamblinLeaf 0 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Hey ... just curious where you stayed. I'll be there in exactly three weeks for my honeymoon (woo-hoo!!) so if you have any other pointers I'd be obliged. Link to post Share on other sites
cafreythebulldog 0 Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 I stayed right there at the Radisson. Either stay there or the Hyatt.By far the two nicest hotels on the island. Link to post Share on other sites
RunrRunr2Win 0 Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 I was in Aruba for last years UB tourney. First of all what a blast it was, I recommend this trip to any and all. And yes the locals do seem to team play a bit, I surely wouldnt like to play them in a shorthanded game of LIMIT poker. However you should have an easy time making stands in NL HE, just push about 5 times as hard as normal and those great odds will eventually payoff if you can get the deck to spit out some winners and not cold deck you.P.S. They have 10x odds on the craps table at the Hyatt, abuse those guys also.RunrRunr2Win Link to post Share on other sites
mjb268 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 if i was you after i found out they were speaking to each other about the hands - go back to the room and learn spanish , then take their bankroll Link to post Share on other sites
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