Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Back to Back to Back to Back and a Couple of Quads

Sunday was interesting.  Ryan dealt me red jacks as my first hand.  I raised a little, had a good flop and won a small pot. 

On the very next hand I got red jacks again.  Hmmm.  I was in the one seat and looked at Ryan and said, "Did you change the deck?"  He saw what I had, gave a small laugh and we continued.  I raised a little, had a good flop and won a small pot.

On the very next hand I got black jacks.  Hmmm.  I nudged Ryan and said, "I don't know what to do.  I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone."  He was as surprised as I was.  I raised a little, got a terrible flop and folded, not losing much.

Last but definitely not least, on the very next hand I got 2 aces.  Hmmm.  I showed Ryan and he just rolled his eyes.  I raised a little, had a good flop and won a small pot.  This is something I always enjoy when I have aces.

I have been playing for 9 years and have never seen back-to-back-to-back jacks followed by aces.  I've had back-to-back aces many times.  I once had aces 5 times in the first hour of a tournament.  I guess there's no end to the weird things that can happen at a poker table.

It continued last night.  Dealer "B" gave me pocket queens and I flopped quads to pick up $150.  Less than 20 minutes later he gave me 99 and I flopped quads again for another $150.  Again, I've had quads twice in one session before but never that fast.  I'm playing again tonight because they are giving away cash every 30 minutes and I have about 150 entries.  Wish me luck!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Thanks to Dr. Phil for the name of today's post. 

I won the 10am Sunday tournament at the Moose for $850.  I didn't have to split it with anybody.  The last four players were Jimmer, his wife Kathy, Ken (don't know him well) and me.  Jimmer never pays back the money bubble and he rarely chops.  Kathy is basically the same way.  I took Jimmer out and he got 4th place.  I had JJ and he had 55.  We both flopped a set and each of us naturally thought we were trapping the other.  Obviously, I won that battle.  I honestly don't remember if Kathy or I took out Ken, but we were head's up after only 1 or 2 more hands.  I had 4 times the chips Kathy had.  She didn't even ask about chopping.  I like playing head's up and never get enough practice at it, so I didn't mention it either.  I probably would have if we had played a long time, but we only played about 6 hands.

This tournament was quite different from most of my other tournaments.  I usually suffer a tremendous rollercoaster of ups and downs.  Sunday was almost perfect, with only one or two very small downsides during the entire thing.  I made some good plays and laid down some good hands, i.e., I laid down AK suited and my opponent showed KK.  Another time I raised with AJ suited when we were 4-handed and laid down to a large re-raise and was shown JJ.  I might have won either time, but I think I dodged bullets there. 

My favorite hand was the one that made me chip leader.  We were 5 or 6 handed at the final table when I was dealt 55.  The flop was A-2-5 giving me a set.  Unbeknownst to me, Kathy had 3-4 in the big blind and had flopped a wheel.  Again, we were each thinking about trapping.  She checked, I made an average bet, she went all-in and I called.  I was going to be out with no money, but Roland paired the board with an ace on the river and saved my bacon.  Phew.

It was really nice to win all by myself and to actually not be a bundle of nerves from the rollercoaster ride.  I hope my one true follower will make the next final table too.