B
badbeatsforall
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Well, it’s taken me a couple of months to completely digest this one, but I’m ready to put it in writing- It’s a biggie!
My poker game was running considerably well. I had been playing good and running good at the ½ and 2/5 games, so I decided to “Take my shot” at 5/10 NL at Foxwoods. Over the course of almost 2 months, I was absolutely crushing the 5/10 Game- Making incredible reads and following my gut instinct to take down some really big pots. (My first session ended with me making a $1700 call on the river with 4th pair to take down a $7,000 pot against a guy who was bluffing the whole way). Most of the money that is made at the 5/10 NL Foxwoods game is made not by actually getting dealt good hands and hitting monsters; but rather it is made by following your reads and making tough calls. If you play standard “ABC” poker, you’re going to end up either getting pushed out of most pots or not getting any action.
So, I won every session I had played and have made some serious money to build my bankroll. Then THIS hand happened……..
Foxwoods 5/10 NL……I have $5000 in front of me that was built up from $1000. UTG I have pocket Queens and Raise to $100. 3 players call to the Button (He also has $5000) who re-raises to $500. Button player is a young, aggressive player who lives at Foxwoods and makes a lot of money playing his style (He juices up big pots and tilts people to dump their money to him). He’s loose and aggressive, but he is also a smart player who knows what he is doing and I’ve seen him lay some big hands down in big spots. So- I put him on Aces or Kings (Which beats me, obviously), but because of our stack sizes and the other players in the pot, I HAVE to call and hopefully get a miracle on the flop (Yeah, I’ll risk another $400 to possibly win a $12,000 pot!!!!). I call, as do the other 3 players.
So…….$2500 in the pot, 5 players, I have pocket Queens which I am convinced are beat by the button. The other 3 players? If any of them had Aces or Kings they would have shoved all-in by the time it got to them the 2nd time around- so it’s basically me and the button.
The Flop comes out- Q 10 5 Rainbow cards……………..JACKPOT!!!!!!!
I just flopped top set and what is now the NUTS against a very aggressive player with the advantage of basically knowing that he has aces or kings and that I outflopped him. As things stand right now, I know he is drawing to 2 cards in the deck (Or running straight cards). Basically, it’s a DREAM scenario against the exact player you’d want to be up against in this situation.
I check (Obviously looking to check-raise) as do the other 3 players to the button. Button bets $1200, and I take about 30 Seconds to announce “All-In” for the $3300 on top. Everyone folds back to the button who stands up and starts to mutter out loud “I think you have kings here” and I can tell he is about to make the call. Inside, I am doing back flips thinking about the Huge pot that I am about to take down in a lock-down spot that any poker player worth their salt drools about getting their money in…………….
………………But then in an instant all my bad beats I have ever taken come back to me in an instant. Countless times, I’ve seen that Ace come on the river to crush my flopped set. I’ve been drawn out on by players who have hit perfect-perfect for the only 2 cards in the deck to beat me. I’ve taken disgusting, horrific beats that ruined my day and destroyed profit that was grinded out over the course of weeks. In those cases, however, the pots were for hundreds of dollars, maybe one here and there for a few thousand…..but THIS pot is $12,000 if (When) he calls.
In an instant, I decide that I am happy with the almost $4000 in the pot and don’t want to risk losing everything even though I am up against 2 cards in the deck. I REALLY don’t want to get sucked out on here and just want to take this pot down. So I tell the kid-
“Look- You’re beat. I hit a monster and outflopped you. You’re drawing to 2 cards here; I KNOW you have Aces or Kings. Just lay your hand down”
He stands up and holds his hand up looking at his cards with the “I can’t believe I got sucked out on” look of disgust on his face. He then takes a big breath (A sign that a player is about to make a “F*** it- If I’m beat, I’m beat” impulse call) and I am now about 5 seconds away from turning my hand over to show him my flopped set of Queens………..but he says “Call” immediately.
Now my fate is sealed one way or the other. Yes, It’s now a $12,000 pot that I have all the money in knowing I am way ahead………but It’s just too good to be true. Nothing I can do here but hold my breath and hope my hand holds up.
Turn Card…….Ace of diamonds……..Button player smiles and turns his pocket aces over. I am in complete shock. River is an inconsequential brick and I just officially got sucked out on to lose a pot almost twice the amount of the brand new Hyundai I just bought. I am in shock and want to be sick- but WTF else could I have done?
That’s Poker. Because of this hand I took almost 2 months off from playing the game. Ouch.
My poker game was running considerably well. I had been playing good and running good at the ½ and 2/5 games, so I decided to “Take my shot” at 5/10 NL at Foxwoods. Over the course of almost 2 months, I was absolutely crushing the 5/10 Game- Making incredible reads and following my gut instinct to take down some really big pots. (My first session ended with me making a $1700 call on the river with 4th pair to take down a $7,000 pot against a guy who was bluffing the whole way). Most of the money that is made at the 5/10 NL Foxwoods game is made not by actually getting dealt good hands and hitting monsters; but rather it is made by following your reads and making tough calls. If you play standard “ABC” poker, you’re going to end up either getting pushed out of most pots or not getting any action.
So, I won every session I had played and have made some serious money to build my bankroll. Then THIS hand happened……..
Foxwoods 5/10 NL……I have $5000 in front of me that was built up from $1000. UTG I have pocket Queens and Raise to $100. 3 players call to the Button (He also has $5000) who re-raises to $500. Button player is a young, aggressive player who lives at Foxwoods and makes a lot of money playing his style (He juices up big pots and tilts people to dump their money to him). He’s loose and aggressive, but he is also a smart player who knows what he is doing and I’ve seen him lay some big hands down in big spots. So- I put him on Aces or Kings (Which beats me, obviously), but because of our stack sizes and the other players in the pot, I HAVE to call and hopefully get a miracle on the flop (Yeah, I’ll risk another $400 to possibly win a $12,000 pot!!!!). I call, as do the other 3 players.
So…….$2500 in the pot, 5 players, I have pocket Queens which I am convinced are beat by the button. The other 3 players? If any of them had Aces or Kings they would have shoved all-in by the time it got to them the 2nd time around- so it’s basically me and the button.
The Flop comes out- Q 10 5 Rainbow cards……………..JACKPOT!!!!!!!
I just flopped top set and what is now the NUTS against a very aggressive player with the advantage of basically knowing that he has aces or kings and that I outflopped him. As things stand right now, I know he is drawing to 2 cards in the deck (Or running straight cards). Basically, it’s a DREAM scenario against the exact player you’d want to be up against in this situation.
I check (Obviously looking to check-raise) as do the other 3 players to the button. Button bets $1200, and I take about 30 Seconds to announce “All-In” for the $3300 on top. Everyone folds back to the button who stands up and starts to mutter out loud “I think you have kings here” and I can tell he is about to make the call. Inside, I am doing back flips thinking about the Huge pot that I am about to take down in a lock-down spot that any poker player worth their salt drools about getting their money in…………….
………………But then in an instant all my bad beats I have ever taken come back to me in an instant. Countless times, I’ve seen that Ace come on the river to crush my flopped set. I’ve been drawn out on by players who have hit perfect-perfect for the only 2 cards in the deck to beat me. I’ve taken disgusting, horrific beats that ruined my day and destroyed profit that was grinded out over the course of weeks. In those cases, however, the pots were for hundreds of dollars, maybe one here and there for a few thousand…..but THIS pot is $12,000 if (When) he calls.
In an instant, I decide that I am happy with the almost $4000 in the pot and don’t want to risk losing everything even though I am up against 2 cards in the deck. I REALLY don’t want to get sucked out on here and just want to take this pot down. So I tell the kid-
“Look- You’re beat. I hit a monster and outflopped you. You’re drawing to 2 cards here; I KNOW you have Aces or Kings. Just lay your hand down”
He stands up and holds his hand up looking at his cards with the “I can’t believe I got sucked out on” look of disgust on his face. He then takes a big breath (A sign that a player is about to make a “F*** it- If I’m beat, I’m beat” impulse call) and I am now about 5 seconds away from turning my hand over to show him my flopped set of Queens………..but he says “Call” immediately.
Now my fate is sealed one way or the other. Yes, It’s now a $12,000 pot that I have all the money in knowing I am way ahead………but It’s just too good to be true. Nothing I can do here but hold my breath and hope my hand holds up.
Turn Card…….Ace of diamonds……..Button player smiles and turns his pocket aces over. I am in complete shock. River is an inconsequential brick and I just officially got sucked out on to lose a pot almost twice the amount of the brand new Hyundai I just bought. I am in shock and want to be sick- but WTF else could I have done?
That’s Poker. Because of this hand I took almost 2 months off from playing the game. Ouch.
