Christmas Comes Early!

Ho ho ho hold Dave down while I mount him from behind. Tuesday was one of the biggest action nights we’ve had in quite a while, and for The Jizz’s game, that’s really saying something! Most of the tighter players (Dean, Jonathan, Charles, Nate, etc.) were absent, which left a table full of Santa (Dave) and his elves (Bill, Elvie, Eli, Michael, Frank, John M, etc.) ready to make my Christmas a good one.

Again the night started a little slow (as has normally been the pattern over the past couple months), but nothing to sweat about. I lost a few smaller pots early and was down around $200 or so before the craziness began. There were so many big hands and large pots that I won’t even attempt to post all the details, and I imagine that the ones I do post may have an error or two. Hell, it’s not like we tape these things… :-)

Anyway, one nice pot was in Omaha 8, when I have 10-10-X-X, the flop comes ten-high, and I boat on the river for a scooper after a few chasers miss their draws. I had another winner when I flopped middle set in Omaha 8, and scooped a nice multi-player pot when the board paired and the low didn’t come.

Another huge pot was in Hold ‘em, when I get 5-5. I just limp in early position, several others limp, John M. raises from the small blind, and Dave re-raises to $100 from the big blind. Both Dave and I have huge stacks at this point, and as I’ve said many times, with Dave it’s all about the implied odds. John will raise pre-flop with any number of hands, so I wasn’t particularly worried about him moving in when it got back to him. Though I definitely can’t call an all-in with this hand, I take a small chance and call, hoping to get a couple callers behind. It worked out beautifully, I think both Elvie and Eli call behind, John calls to complete the betting, and there’s a nice little pile of chocolates in the middle for whoever gets lucky and hits the flop. Flop comes Q-6-5…BINGO! Before I can even begin planning the best way to play it, John moves all-in, then Dave goes over the top all-in! Sa-weet - I move in as well. With all the money in there, you could tell that Elvie and Eli are doing their best to visualize some kind of runner-runner scenario which would allow them to take the pot, but in the end they reluctantly fold. I don’t remember what John or Dave have, or even if they turn their cards up, but my set holds up and I end up raking a huge pot.

Another mammoth pot came in Omaha 8, when Dave raises pre-flop to $100, and pretty much the entire table calls. I have some cheese like a two-suited 10s-8x-7x-3s, and I make the call (remember, implied odds…). I’m not very excited about the flop (I think 9s-5s-3x with two spades), but I have some possibilities (baby flush, straight, trips, crappy low, etc). Dave leads out with a large bet ($400 maybe?). This night I have Dave on my right. There are pros and cons to having him on either side of me. Normally you like the loose players on your right, but Dave is so loose that there’s always the danger of you calling him knowing you’re ahead, then the guy with the real hand popping in a large re-raise behind. And if that happens, Dave is almost guaranteed to move in and force you to play for all your (or all his, as the case may be) chips. Anyway, I call hoping nobody raises, and we get another couple callers.

Though Dave is a wild man, he’s not a complete idiot. I know he has a hand (probably some A-A-2 combination). At this point I’m not anywhere committed to the hand, and I’m ready to dump it if I don’t improve on the turn. The turn brings a 10x, which is a good card for me. Now I have two pair and an open-end straight draw, to go along with my other crappy draws. Unless someone flopped a set (and nobody raised Dave’s flop bet), then there’s a great chance I have the best hand at this point. Dave leads out with a $500 bet, and I take a moment to debate raising to isolate. I decide that’s just chumming the waters, and there are just too many danger cards that could come, so in the end I just call. I think everyone else folds anyway, and the river brings a sweet little 3, boating me up! Dave checks, I move in, and he reluctantly calls, showing A-A-2-4 (aces up). He had the suited As, so it was really a monster flop for him – nut flush draw, uncounterfeitable nut low draw, open end straight draw, etc. Hard to believe, but none of them got there. As we say so often about our intrepid dealer: “Jarod f**ks another one.” I say it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, and I scoop a $3,800 pot.

The night wore on, and people started leaving, but the hands kept coming. The key to winning large pots is not just having a hand; someone else also has to have a good hand as well. On this night several of my opponents were unfortunate enough to have good hands at the wrong time. One example of this was a Hold ‘em hand against Eli. I raise to $30 pre-flop with Q-Q, and get a several callers. Flop comes 9-5-2, I lead out with a $125 bet, Eli raises all-in for another $240 or so, and everyone folds to me. I suspect I’m behind, but I’m getting well over 2:1 on my money. Plus, I had a mammoth stack and just won a big pot off of him a few minutes ago, so I kind of figured “what the hell” and called. He turns over 9-5 for two-pair. I’m rooting for a 2 on the turn to give me a higher two-pair, but a 5 comes instead, boating him up. Of course, you know what’s coming – the river brings my two-outer Q, and Eli is out the door. Jarod… well, you know...

Frank is another victim of a cold deck as we’re playing Hold ‘em short-handed. He’s on the button to my right, and raises to $30. I have A-A in the small blind and re-raise to $100, and he calls. Flop comes A-J-7, I check my top set, he bets $150, I min-raise to $300, and he calls. The turn brings an 8, and I move in for the remainder of his chips ($400-500 or so). He calls and turns over A-7 for a flopped two-pair, and he’s drawing dead. The funny thing about this was that a 7 comes on the river, and he throws up his arms and yells “Yes - I’ve got a boat!” And what a cute little boat it was. Oh well, nobody’s brain is functioning properly at 6am, especially after inhaling Schirk’s burps all night…

Again, these were just a few of the big hands I was involved in. Luckily I wasn’t involved in any the hands where Eli flopped quads! The monkey seemed to be a curse – whoever was sitting behind it started bleeding chips immediately. After all was said and done, I cashed out at 7am for $8,100 - not bad for a $600 investment. Looks like it won’t be a K-Mart Christmas after all…

See ya at the tables…
Rick