Get the Silverback!

There are monkeys, and then there are monkeys. (Yes, I’m sure some poker-playing primatologist will make some futile attempt to explain the difference between monkeys and gorillas, but since I’m now officially a Southerner, I ain’t not know no better, and I don’t not care…).

Friday night Omaha 8, and I look down at 9s-10c-10d-Jd. I limp, along with pretty much the entire table, and see a flop of Ad-Qd-10s. Not a horrible flop, as I have bottom set, with straight and flush draws. Still, I need help before I put too many more chips in the middle. After calling a small flop bet (along with several others), my help comes in the form of the 7d on the turn, giving me the second-nut flush. Elvie makes a small bet into me, a bet which seems to me like a defensive one. I have a couple players behind me, and decide I need to make a pot-sized raise for two reasons: A) to see if the nut flush is out there, and B) to hopefully get rid of any low draws. Of course, I want to get called by a straight, set, or smaller flush.

The action folds to Elvie, who makes the call. I love this result, with no re-raise I obviously now know I have the best hand. Now I just need to not get corn-holed on the river... Since Elvie has to know I have a flush, I have to assume he’s drawing live. He most likely would have mucked a flopped straight after my raise on the turn, unless he had a good redraw to go along with it. At this point I put him on A-A, or possibly Q-Q. I’m praying for the case 10, which should be good for the rest of his chips (yes, I’m a greedy bastard – this fact has been well-established…). No such luck – but the river brings the Kd instead, giving me a royal flush!

Akash (bless his heart) immediately says to me “Sooooo, you weren’t betting the nut flush after all!” To which I reply something like “You know me, I’m just trying to bet Elvie off of the best hand.” Elvie checks, and I make a small value bet (around $125 I think, which was about half his remaining chips), and he makes the crying call. I believe he said he had aces and a smaller flush. I think it was Stone who said he flopped middle set (queens), so three players flopped a set!

All told, it was another good night. I scooped a couple other nice pots with the double-nuts. One was when I held As-3s, the flop comes something like 2s-4s-8s, I get action all the way to the river and the flush holds up. I look forward to tomorrow night, when I once again venture into the poker jungle in search of the elusive Silverback!

See ya at the tables…
Rick