Breaking promises...

(I apologize in advance, but I’m breaking my promise after only two weeks...)

Thud. Thud. Phwap. Thud.

That is what it sounded like Tuesday night, after playing two of the best hands of poker in my life…

…And losing both of them. Sometimes, it’s just not your night.

Tuesday, I planned to go to Foxwoods to play in the weekly $150NL Hold-‘Em Rebuy/Add-on. Personally, I prefer the Thursday morning game – smaller buy-in, no re-buys. Unfortunately, this little thing called MY REAL JOB gets in the way, so I have to settle for the Tuesday night action.

On the drive down to Connecticut, my voicemail starts ringing. It’s my friend Jay. Now, in the past, weird things have happened that make me think that we share a brain. But this message was nothing short of ludicrous:

“Hey, D. Just wondering what you’re doing tonight. I got sent out to Worcester for work, so I figured that since I’m already about two-thirds of the way, I’d go to Foxwoods for a couple of hours. Didn’t know if you wanted in. Give me a call back…”

I mean, that’s just creepy. I called to inform him that I was actually on my way there, so I’d meet him in the poker room. Anyway, we both entered the tourney, and both ended our nights in a blaze of glory – his a little after mine.

So I get put at table #14, which is in the farthest corner of the poker room. Luckily, I get sat across the table from a nice older guy named Bert who I’ve played with before. He remembers me, and we start up our usual conversation about college basketball, football, whatever is on the TV really. Nice guy; retired; plays for fun and for the competition.

Anyway, of the 10-guys at our table, I recognized three from the poker room. Two of the others are Internet only players (or so they said, and their play showed it), and the rest I can’t figure out. One of those is a little Hispanic man at seat #5 (I was #9). He and I crossed paths more than once. In fact, twice…

In total, for the four tournaments I’ve played at Foxwoods, I’ve never been forced to re-buy after losing all of my chips. I play pretty tight for the first hour, and after that re-buys aren’t allowed anyway. But I guess there’s a first time for everything.

I only lost three hands all night. But each in such a debilitating way that I’m not sure I want to play that tournament for awhile…

The first time around the table, I’m in the small blind and find pocket 9’s with five callers around to me. I raised from $25 to $150, and still got two callers including the Big Blind. After the flop hit 4-K-Q rainbow, I should’ve gotten out. I know better, but I also didn’t read either of the other players to have the king or queen. With the pot at about $600, I moved all-in for my remaining 1600 chips and got one caller with only 500 chips – one of the Internet guys.

I showed my 9’s; he showed his A-J unsuited. He had nothing; I’d read him perfectly! Sure any Ace, Jack or ten gives him the hand, but I felt pretty confident….

…Until the turn was an Ace. And the river, just for insult, was a Jack. Ugh.

Three hands later, I stare down at a K-10 suited in clubs. I also stare across the table at a raise to $75 from the $25 blind from the little Hispanic guy (who had been playing junk all night long). The raise seemed a little small, almost like he was dying for a re-raise, and so I gave it to him. I moved over-the-top for my last $800 and got him to call (he had me covered), while the three other callers at $75 bowed out. Just me and him… and he turned over J-10 off-suit. Great call there buddy.

4-4-10 on the flop, with one club. The only way he’s winning is if a Jack hits the board, and we split if any Ace, 10, or 4 comes down. The turn is a two. One card to come… and it’s a friggin’ Ace. Chop pot. So instead of doubling up and being at about $1800, I’m right back where I was – maybe up $200. Crap.

Finally, the two hands that just destroyed my night, and very well may have shattered my poker confidence for years to come.

Shortly after chopping that pot, I’m in a hand with the Internet player in seat #6. I had K-Q suited under the gun, and raised pre-flop from $25 to $125. He had (obviously) called. The flop came up K-8-3 rainbow, with no suit to match my hand. I checked it, and he bet out $200. I thought had him trapped nicely, so I raised him all-in with my last $600, and he called. I kid you not, the guy was playing an 8-3 suited, and had called my $125 pre-flop raise. He wasn’t in a blind, he wasn’t pot committed; he was just a bad player who got lucky. Naturally, I caught nothing the rest of the hand, and was forced to re-buy for the first time ever. Even worse, when you re-buy they just give you a $500 chip, so I had to ask Internet guy to change it up for me. Humiliating.

The VERY NEXT HAND, I got Ad-2s in the Big Blind. Everything checked to me, so I saw a cheap flop. 7d-2d-Ac, giving me two pair and the nut flush draw. Not bad. I only had $475 left from the $500 I’d re-bought, so I fired out $200 of it and got two callers – including little Hispanic guy.

When the turn came up Jack of clubs, I moved all-in for my last $275, knocking out one caller. Then I turned to little Hispanic guy and said “If you plan to chase down your straight, you’re gonna have to pay me for it.”

I’ve never seen a person go so pale so quickly, and I’m talking pale like old Michael Jackson to new Michael Jackson – he just bleached out. I’d obviously read him correctly, and he was probably trying to figure out how I’d done it. But he still called, (guess he thought I was bluffing), turning over K-10 unsuited against my two pair. Half the table looked at me like I had x-ray eyes or something, and looked at him like he was a complete idiot. Even he looked like knew he was an idiot.

Considering how the rest of my night had gone (I won’t even mention the BlackJack or Craps I played to kill time), I should’ve known what was going to happen next. I was roughly a 94%-6% favorite going into the river – there were at most three queens left to make his straight, since the guy next to me told me he had tossed one.

River? Queen of spades. Good night, thanks for playing, see you next time. Poor Bert looked like he’d just been shot, grabbing his chest and falling back in his chair, then yelling across the table at me “Kid, sometimes it’s not your night. See you in a couple weeks.”

Yes, yes you will.

Let me also mention my boy Jay’s poor timing before I sign off. He made it past the second break, down to about the last 80 people or so from a field of about 200. At the second break, he only had about 1300 in chips, but made a run just afterwards to get back to almost 4000. I walked over to watch him, and as I did he pulled pocket Aces. He won the next three hands, but I decided it was time to go home, so I said goodbye and left. Guess I was his good-luck charm…

I got a voicemail this morning telling me of his demise. The first hand after I left, he got an A-Q unsuited in the small blind. Everyone folded to the button, who raised from the $600 blind to $1500. Jay re-raised all-in to a little under $4000, and got called by the Big Blind and the button.

Big Blind had Q-Q, button had A-K. There was no card Jay could catch to win the hand, unless he drew out a straight or a full house (aces full of queens). The flop was A-A-8, then a king (good night), then a blank and it was over. Guess I should’ve stuck around for luck.

Sorry, I felt like I needed to post this up here quickly before the anger subsided and the stories lost their luster. I’ll have my Super Bowl breakdown and picks probably on Friday. Not like it’s any surprise who I’ll be taking…

Lata.

posted by Big D @ 9:25 AM