Quads vs. Quads!

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. With all the crazy action normally happening in our game with The Juice, I’m surprised it took this long. While it wasn’t quite as dramatic as the quads vs. quads hand at PKR a few months back (one-outer for Eli on the turn, followed by a one-outer for Akash on the river), it was brutal nonetheless.

We’re playing $5/10 NL Omaha 8, we have our usual pre-flop straddle, the usual pre-flop raise, the usual 58 callers with one guy all-in, etc., and we have a nice little pot a-brewing. I’m in middle position with Q-Q-J-8, and see a flop of Q-Q-10 rainbow – woo hoo! The great thing about this situation (other than the obvious!), is that there’s no chance for low, and the only way I can lose is if it comes running aces, kings, or straight flush cards (still, it is Omaha…). The one bad thing is that, unless someone has pocket tens, I’m unlikely to get any action. Fine with me, as there’s already over $400 out there.

The action checks around on the flop. Since nobody in their right mind would’ve checked pocket tens here, I’ve pretty much resigned myself to the probability of just taking down what’s currently in the pot. Still, I’m hoping for a big card that will make someone a straight, or best case scenario, aces or kings full. Instead, the turn brings a 10. Not all bad, as I might get a little action from someone holding a 10. Dean pushes in the rest of his chips ($98 I believe), I Hollywood a bit before calling, and John M calls as well. Nice!

I assume each of them has one of the remaining tens, until to my surprise, one of them pops up on the river! The board shows Q-Q-10-10-10, and now all of a sudden my interest has peaked. John and I are the only ones left with chips, and he has a nice little stack. With any luck he has the case 10. I toss in a $125 bet, and John immediately goes all-in for over $800. I call, of course, and he excitedly announces “I’ve got quads!” I say “I know, me too” as I show him my quatro reinas.

Unfortunately for John, he learned the hard way one of the Laws of Omaha – When you’re drawing dead, the card that costs you the most money will always come. Luckily for me, what started out as a nice flop and a decent pot, turned out to be a sweet turn and river, and a $2,400 pot! You’ve gotta love this game…

See ya at the tables…
Rick