Poker in Barcelona – Part II – A unique, fun playing environment – and an unusual method of showing down hands

Last time, BARGE member Stevan "goldiefish" Goldman began a description of his experience playing poker at Gran Casino Barcelona. He had just won a big pot, and he continues his description here:

The players loved to show their hands after the river, even when they lost, and it seemed de rigueur to show their holecards one at a time. It wasn't really a slow roll, everyone did it, and no one complained. But, it also slowed the game down considerably. For example, on one such hand, there were three players in at the end. The board was ragged, with an ace on the flop. One player bet the river and two others called. So, the bettor turned over one of his cards, an ace, as if to say, "Beat this!" The first caller then showed one card, also an ace, as if to say, "You'll need more than that." The second caller also showed an ace, as if to say, "Well, so far we're all tied." Now, it was back to the bettor to show his second holecard, a king. The first caller showed his unpaired 10 and mucked, and the second caller showed his unpaired jack and also mucked. Most showdowns were conducted this way, and the players really seemed to enjoy this one-card-at-a-time showdown. I didn't do it when I was in at the end, but that was because I didn't speak their language. (More on that in a minute.) It was a very friendly game, and absolutely no one was offended by the way the hands were shown. On the big hand I won, I'm absolutely certain no one else had an ace. And because no one bet the river, I'm also sure no one had a straight or flush. If I had rolled just the ace, I'm almost certain they all would have mucked. My ace was good, without needing the 6 on the river. However, there were three spades on the turn, and I'm pretty sure the button (who bet the turn) had the K and was looking for the flush.

Barcelona is unlike the rest of Spain in that while they certainly speak Spanish, they also speak a local dialect called Catalan. When Generalissimo Francisco Franco was in power, he mandated that only Spanish be taught in the schools. But when he died, the people of Barcelona (in the province of Catalonia) returned to their language (and their local culture as they saw it) with almost a vengeance. They take great local pride in their Catalan. Many Catalonians are separatists and would like to be apart from greater Spain; not as much as the Basques, but separatism is still prevalent. You notice it when you go from Barcelona ("modern" Spain) to Madrid, or better yet, Seville (which is "old" Spain). It's almost like going to another country, even more drastic than going from Bangor, Maine, to Mobile, Alabama, in the United States. I speak a little Spanish, and I certainly spoke enough to play in this game, as the only Spanish words you needed were the numbers (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 160). Besides, in a limit game, you didn't even have to know the numbers in Spanish, since the bets spoke for themselves. In the pot-limit Omaha game, some knowledge of numbers in Spanish would have been almost required. The dealers spoke some English, which helped, but playing in a pot-limit or no-limit game without knowing numbers in Spanish would have been quite difficult, and slow. However, as I said, the game was friendly, with lots of joking, laughing and teasing one another on the bad hands they played. And, they played lots of bad hands. However, the players spoke Catalan to one another, which left me largely unable to understand anything that was said at the table, except what I could take out of context. That was too bad, because it was a nice game, with players who just had a lot of fun. And, it was soft for that reason.

It had been a long time since I had played in a game with smoking allowed at the table, but as is the case with most of Europe, smoking is allowed. In fact, I think it is almost required. This was good because I was able to smoke a lovely Cuban cigar at the table, but it was bad because finding fresh air to breathe became somewhat of a challenge at times. To be honest, I don't know how the dealers can stand it. I took frequent breaks when I wasn't in hands, just to step away from the table for a minute or two.

I also should say this: For the ridiculously high rake, the players were treated great. For example, the house brought the players fresh packs of their favorite cigarettes for free, and even offered me a cigar! Also, the staff cleaned continuously, including emptying the ashtrays constantly. And, at a break in the tournament (at 9 p.m.), food was served to all players: lovely little baguette sandwiches, potato croquettes, and so on – and even wine and soft drinks. So, all of the poquer players took a break at 9 p.m. to eat, on the house. It was quite a nice touch. Again, I wish that they had spoken more Spanish or less Catalan. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed playing poquer in Barcelona. I recommend it to anyone who visits there.

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