Another Tuesday at Dave's

Another Tuesday means another night of food, drink, porn, laughter, and, oh yeah, poker. The table dynamic Tuesday was a bit on the tight side (which is to say it’s still looser than most games). As usual, Dave, Elvie and Bill were there to represent the crazies of the poker world. Tom, Charles and Nate were there also, waiting for pocket aces so they could at least see a flop before folding.

Most of the night was relatively uneventful, though I did have quads five times in Omaha 8 (queens, nines, fours, and aces twice). None of them scooped any large pots however. Quads were sure cheap – we probably saw them a dozen times! The rest of the night mostly consisted of folding pre-flop, busted draws, or watching my flopped nuts get drawn out on. One or two of the draw-outs were a bit painful, but nothing that required a doctor’s visit.

During the entire 12 hour session, there were exactly two occasions where I had a hand at the river and actually got paid off. The first was Omaha 8, where I’m dealt Ah-4h-X-X, and get a flop of something like 2h-7s-Qh. Nothing to get too excited about just yet, but I’ve got the nut flush draw and second-nut low draw. I bet $35 or so and get five callers. I’m trying to use my telekinetic abilities to bring the 3h to the top of the deck, but alas, I fail and get the 8h instead. Two of the guys are short-stacked, and I go ahead and go all-in for my last $350 or so. I think everyone but one guy calls, so I assume at least one, maybe two of them have the but low. While I’m hoping for a 3, I’m really just rooting for the board not to pair. It doesn’t, and I’m happy to win half of a nice pot. I become even happier when we all turn our cards up and I discover that my low is good also! Yep, it’s a funny game…

The second big hand came during the wee hours of the morning, as Bill, Charles and I were playing $5/10 Omaha High three-handed. I have 5-6-X-X, and the board shows 2-4-X-X on the turn. I’m first to act and check to Bill, who leads out. Charles calls, so I decide to call with my gutshot. The pot’s not very big, but we all have over $1,000 in chips, and I just have the feeling I’m getting paid if it hits. As you know by now, the 3 comes. I glance over at Bill, who’s already reaching for his chips, so I check to him. He bets $100, and Charles calls (sweet!). I forget if I raise another $100 or $150 (hey, it was late…), but Bill raises another $400. Well, good news / bad news. The good news is that I’ve got the nuts and another guy is re-raising me. The bad news is that he probably has the same hand, and his raise will drive out the third player. Charles folds, and I go all-in, of course. Bill studies at the board again before calling, just to make sure he truly has the nuts and didn’t misread the cards. He calls, putting the pot at around $2,500, and turns over A-5, for the second-nut wheel. It takes him a moment to process what just transpired, but shoving all those chips over my way gives him some time to do just that. It’s happened to all of us, especially at the end of a long session. Charles said he had A-5 also, by the way. We didn’t play too much longer after that (sadly, I had a meeting to attend), and I end up cashing out for just over $3K.

One other note: As you’ve gathered already, Tuesday marked the return of Charles to our game after a 2-3 month absence. It’s nice to see that he and Dave have kissed and made up after their lover’s quarrel. Normally I would be jealous, but I have learned to deal with the fact that Dave is just not the type of person that can ever maintain a monogamous relationship – he will donk off his chips to anyone. I’ve learned to take the bad with the good.

We’ve missed Charles’ sunny disposition at the game. We’ve missed his trite expressions. We’ve missed his incessant whining at anything and everything. We’ve missed his off-key whistling (okay, not the whistling so much…). Mostly though, we’ve missed his money. Again, I’ve learned to take the bad with the good, so welcome back Charles!

See ya at the tables…
Rick