Whenever I have one of those ridiculous nights that we all have, where every single friggin’ thing that can go wrong at the poker table does, I usually just throw my head back and lament – “Why don’t I ever get to be the guy that comes from behind and wins all night? When will it be my turn???”The obvious answer is that good players won’t have those nights too often, because they typically aren’t getting their money in as an underdog as much as a fish does.
Even so, it would be nice sometimes after those rough nights to stick it to someone else the way EVERYONE has been doing to you. You pray for a hand where you can stack someone on a bad beat, just to restore your sense of equilibrium in the poker universe.
And every so often, your prayers get answered.
Last night, I got to feel what it’s like to be on the right side of some sick beats. And I’m not talking about Pharrell and Timbaland. I’m talking getting it all in as a massive underdog, and smiling incredulously as somehow, all the chips are shoved toward you on the river.
I was playing in a home game over in Beverly Hills. I’ve been trying to expand the number of different home games I play in, since Billy isn’t around to play heads up with me everyday like we used to (more on that in my next post). Anyway, the guys over there are great – they’re friendly, they have personalities, and they all love poker. Connor (the host, and one of their better players), Brendan (his brother, and the other pretty good player), Sean (an actor), Sammy (mini-Phil Hellmuth), Ryan (the fish), and Wook (the token Asian). This was my second time going, and occasionally some other players will drift in. But this seems to be the core group of guys. The game is a No Limit Hold ‘Em SNG with a $20 buy-in and rebuys for the first hour. The previous time I was there, I took it down over a field of thirteen, after a great heads up match at the end with Brendan. Last night, we had a field of only eight, with the top two finishers splitting the pool 70/30.
Anyway, there were two huge hands where I came from far enough behind to actually feel bad about sucking out. The first one was definitely the worse of the two. As some of these guys were liable to give me action with draws and second pairs, I had been raising with any suited Ace, and with unsuited Ace-mediums or better. This hand I picked up A-9 offsuit, and decided to make a healthy raise under the gun. The blinds were 200/400 at this point, so I made it 2,500 to go. Brendan was in late position and my only caller.
As I mentioned, Brendan is a pretty good player, especially post-flop, so his range of hands here was pretty large. But he is prone to (correctly) re-raise with big aces and pocket pairs before the flop, so I felt pretty confident I had the best hand so far. I put him on a hand like K-10 or Q-J. Maybe even a weak Ace. The flop should be a pretty good indicator.
The flop came Ks-9c-7c. Didn’t really work with the red cards I was holding, but I hit a pair so I fired out 3,000, and Brendan insta-raised to 6,000. Something told me he sensed weakness in me and was making a play here (well within his repertoire), so I came back over the top all in for about $13,000 more. I had him covered. He thought about it for quite some time, and I felt pretty confident that he would fold. Then he started in with the questions: “You got pocket Aces? A set? Bigger flush draw?”
Uh-oh.
He called and tabled K-6 of clubs. I didn’t really fault him for the preflop call. I had been playing so aggressively that I was clearly offering reasonable implied odds if we both connected with the flop. But yeah, he had me destroyed – top pair and the flush draw … I was embarrassed to show my cards. But I did, and pulled out my wallet to rebuy. Before I could pull out the Jackson, the Ace of spades hit on the turn and the table erupted. I was happy on the inside, but didn’t show it too much. Brendan still had outs for the re-suck. But no, the river came with another 9, just adding insult to injury, and I took down a monster pot early.
Even worse for Brendan (and better for me), this ridonkulous beat set him on tilt a little bit and he paid me even more later. I had A-K suited on the button, it was folded to me so I raised to about 4x the big blind. Brendan pushed all in with 8-9 offsuit (thinking I was stealing) and I called. The board was insane … the flop came with a king, then another king hit on the turn and ANOTHER on the river. Runner-runner quads … it was like a parent spanking a child into submission and yelling a single word on every hit: “DON’T … YOU … EVER … MAKE … A PLAY … ON … ME … AGAIN!!!” Ouch.
The other hand came later in the action. I was in the big blind with A-7 of clubs, and it’s limped to me. The blinds are large enough at this point to make a steal worthwhile, PLUS the pot is nice and juicy since everyone (5 players now) has limped, PLUS I’m still the big stack so I get to push them around a little bit. I move all in here, expecting everyone to fold. But Ryan (the one I called a fish up above … yikes) slowrolls me a little bit and calls. Sean says to him nervously, “That’s a hell of a call man.”
Ryan just shakes his head and says, “Not really … it’s an easy call when it’s a sure thing.” He tables pocket Aces.
HEE-HAW!!!
“Nothing is a sure thing at this table,” Sean replies.
I sheepishly turn over my A-7. As soon as Brendan sees it, he puts a hand on Ryan’s shoulder and says, “Sorry, buddy.” He senses what’s about to come.
The flop contains two clubs and a 7 – beautiful! The turn is a red blank, however, and I start getting nervous. I have Ryan covered, but losing here would cost me about 60% of my stack which would cripple me given the rising blinds. Nothing to fear, however, as the 4 of clubs (gorgeous card, don’t you think) hit on the river, and I rake it all in.
I don’t feel nearly as bad about this beat – he played his monster so weakly and the pot was so large that it would have been a mistake for me not to take a shot at it. Still, I got it all in with the worst of it … a bad beat is a bad beat.
So I have to give my thanks to the poker deities tonight. They gave me a glimpse of poker heaven – where the good players win even when they temporarily become bad players.
_ _
They say it’s better to be lucky than good.
Those rare times when you get to be both, it’s simply not fair. HEE-HAW!!!
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