Back in the Saddle Again

After a rare losing night (and a big one at that!) last week, it was time to get back on track. And what better way to do that than a Tuesday night with The Jizz?! I love Dave’s game. He welcomes you with open arms, he wines you, he dines you, then gives you a big pile of money as you walk out the door. It kind of makes me feel like a high-class call girl, except I get to leave with my dignity (and sphincter) intact. He’s Richard Gere to my Julia Roberts…

It was a strange night for me, in that I didn’t get involved in any gigantic pots. For the most part, I did a pretty good job of keeping the pots low when I was drawing, and being ahead when any significant amount of money went in. One monster pot I opted out of, I kind of wish I hadn’t. I was in late position in NL Omaha 8, and held A-2-X-X. The flop comes three middle cards with two to the low; something like 9-8-6. There’s a big bet, then three players are all-in by the time it gets to me! I don’t have much of anything except for a low draw, and I don’t have any insurance to go with the A-2. I’m the big stack, but I fold and let everyone duke it out. Everyone turns over straights or sets, and of course, another low card comes, meaning my nut low would have taken half of a monster pot. Oh well, you can’t play results poker, though there are always those one or two times a night I wish I was a worse player – the kind who makes a bad call and comes out smelling like a rose!

I don’t really have any hands of note, I just steadily built my stack until everyone left for the night except John M. We decided to play $5/10 NLHE heads-up for a couple hours. We went back and forth a little, but he played well and caught a few cards at the right time, and ended up winning the battle. I don’t recall how much he took exactly, but it was probably around $200-300. The biggest hand, and the one that turned out to be the difference between winning and losing, was when I pick up Q-Q. I think he raises to $30 on the button, I raise to $90, and he calls. He’s raising at least half the time on his button, but I put him on some kind of hand since he calls my re-raise. The flop comes 10-9-4, and I’m liking where I’m at. I lead out with a $100 bet, and he calls immediately. I can’t put him on A-K or A-Q, as he would have either mucked or thought for a few more seconds before calling. I can’t put him on a set either, as he would have thought about raising for a few seconds. My best guess is that he has A-10, K-10, A-9, or possibly a middle pair.

The turn brings a J. I like this card, as it’s an undercard that gives me an open-end straight draw. The only hand I’m a little worried about is J-10, but I bet another $100, and again he quickly calls. The river brings a 10 – not the card I was looking for. Now I’m facing a dilemma, to bet or not to bet. I convinced myself that, if I check to him, John’s going to push all-in regardless of what he has. There was $580 in the pot at this point, and I think he’ll take a stab at it with a missed draw. I make a bet of $200 (in retrospect a poor bet), and he immediately moves all-in for another $230 or so. Crap. I know I’m beat, but it’s only $230 more into a $1,200 pot, so I pay him off like the donkey I am at 7am. He turns over A-10. I wonder if he thought he was ahead the whole time, or if he just stayed in trying to hit the five-outer. The way the betting went it would have been tough to put me on anything other than a big pair. I didn’t get out of line all night – especially firing three big shells in a row. Maybe I should have pushed in on the turn, but the fact is I wanted action, and sadly, I got my wish! :-)

We finally called it a morning a little after that, and I cashed out for $3,500, even after dropping a little bit to John-Boy. I look forward to next Tuesday, when I can again back up the armored car to Dave’s door. I’d appreciate a little help loading it, Dave – my back’s a little sore…

See ya at the tables…
Rick