Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Not Much of a "Craze" Anymore

When I started this blog, Poker was in what I think can be called it's heyday. There was something of a poker craze going on, and thus "caughtupinthecraze" was born. In my first post, I claimed that I could teach anyone with a 3-digit IQ to win at poker in a casino. While that may have been true at the time, it's certainly not the case any more. The competition has gotten so much tougher that the players who now provide most of my income are probably better than I was back when I wrote that first blog entry.

There are now only two "open" props in my section who have been working longer than I have. One of the guys who had been there longer is now a "silent" prop for the stud 8-or-better game, meaning he doesn't have to play any other games. Also, both of the props who started the week after I did are no longer working for the Bike. One guy who has been a prop for about a month is actually working another full time job as a bio-chemist at a local biotech company. I don't think he's making any money playing poker - the only game he's good at is NL holdem. He thinks he'll keep both jobs for about a year, at which point his wife should be done with nursing school. Personally, I can barely imagine any scenario where I would decide to work 16 hour days when I had the option of working 8. If I get into grad school, I plan on quitting the propping job. (I'm on the wait list for UCLA's stat PhD program, and should hear back this week.)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

where ya at? It's been awhile, and I'm getting desperate for an update.

A little while back I inquired about propping for the Bike, but they said they were only looking for top section, or maybe they said you have to start at the top section and then you can ask to come down. My bankroll is no where close to being able to play 20-40 limit holdem all day. Even a bad run at the 200 NL could kill me. I was hoping to prop the 80 NL, O8 section in the middle.

Please log an update, no matter how brief. I am still trying to figure out if propping is a worthwhile way to build my bankroll back up. I could still get a prop gig at one of the tiny 3 table joints around LA.

Keith said...

Yeah, a lot of the middle-section props started out in the top section. I'm not sure why they wouldn't just hire props for the middle section, though.

I think Hawaiian Gardens uses prop players, too. Maybe you could look into that.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the suggestion Keith. By the way, I was talking to the middle limit host/prop (not really sure his title since he doesn't have to play by the normal prop rules) about this, and he said most people in the area start propping at Hollywood Park.

This was a complete shock to me. Like you, I live on the westside and the Park was my home casino. Hell, when I lived in Playa Del Rey it was a straight shot with no delays no matter what the traffic was. From 2004-2006 I was an every day regular, to the point that when I went back last month for the first time in year the board girls and chip runners remember my name AND my wife's name.

My point is, I've have NEVER seen a single player in any game that I thought was a prop at the Park. Have you? Because of the amount of players, maybe the props don't have to get up when the table fills. That's what gives them away at the Bike or Crystal Palace or Normandie. But it seems like I would pegged at least one person as a prop at the Park.

I read an article in the LA Times about the prop that was being investigated by the IRS for owing $1.5 mil that worked at the Park at the time. In that article it said there were something like 60 props at Hollywood Park. That's crazy!

Anyway, did you ever inquire into propping at the Park? Or the Hustler? When I asked at the Hustler they needed someone for 20-40 only. Overall, how would you rate propping?