Saturday, December 24, 2005

Quads and Cold Decks Part 3

Shelly and I were finally "storming the castle" after getting sidetracked by hunger and hockey. I was seated at a new 2/4 table with a bunch of cowboys and a couple of locals when I looked down to see K 2 off. Normally I would only play this if it were soooted (yeah, right) but I was in the small blind and this was a passive table. Most of the table limped ahead of me and I decided to limp right along with them. The big blind checked and we awaited the flop.

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It was Saturday, the day of the big WPBT event, and Shelly and I were ready for some poker. We had a reasonable amount of sleep, ate pastries for breakfast, and hit the conference room with time to spare. Bill and the IP did an excellent job on the room and I was impressed with how organized everything seemed. After a while the speakers started their thing and I searched the room for a spot where I could actually hear them. I had absolutely no luck and finally gave up. (This had nothing to do with the socializing in the background. That was expected and I can block that stuff out. I think the sound system just sucked.)

As we waited for the speakers to finish up my angry twin was carrying on about no one calling her to tell her that Phil Gordon was in the MGM poker room the previous evening. For the record (in case no one read the last installment) NO ONE TOLD ME EITHER!!!

Finally it was time to start the tournament and we drew our table assignments. My table (#6):

Seat 1: Mrs. HDouble (later Mr. Subliminal)
Seat 2: Mrs. HHead
Seat 3: Me
Seat 4: -EV
Seat 5: Guy who reminded me of "Jesus" whose blog I forget
Seat 6: Falstaff in his kilt
Seat 7: Drizz
Seat 8: Big Mike (later some guy named Steve)
Seat 9: Gracie
Seat 10: Franklin

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Seven of us waited to see the flop. When it came down I saw that I have paired my 2. Oh boy, low pair, guess I'll be folding this hand now. But something amazing happened (not really, this table sucked), everyone checked around. Free card for everyone!

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The WPBT Winter Classic was underway and I couldn't get a hand to save my life. I did get pocket Kings a couple of times buy only managed to take the blinds as everyone gave my pre-flop raise some respect. I think I also saw a flop and took down a small pot when my pair of 5's hit a set on the flop. Other than that, I didn't play a whole lot. At the first break I was up a little but not enough to keep me afloat much longer. I needed cards.

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The dealer flipped up the turn card and it was another 2. I had a hand, thanks for the free card. Someone ahead of me bet and when the action got to me, I raised. Everyone else got out of the way and we waited for the river.

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Break number one was over and the cards didn't get any better. I had a Queen with every possible kicker below an 8 on almost every hand. They weren't even soooted at any point that I can recall. Then it happened, the hand that would put me on tilt, make me cry like a little girl, and put me in a generally bad mood for the remainder of the tournament.

I didn't have a lot of chips left and I was in the need of a hand I could push with. I hadn't seen an Ace for about an hour and was really needing one. That's when the dealer dealt one, only he dealt it face up! What the fuck? I finally get a decent card and the fucking dealer, who was too busy chatting away to pay attention, deals it face up. He immediately grabbed the card, showed it to the table and gave me another. My Ace got replaced with a 4 and it didn't go well with the 10 I already had. I would have pushed and I would have won the hand had the dealer not screwed up. Instead I had to fold. To say I was upset would be an understatement.

To make things worse, I could tell I was getting upset over it and that made me more upset. Luckily it was almost time for the second break and I raced out of the room and headed to the Ladies room. I couldn't stop the tears and that made me feel worse. I was rescued by Gracie and Maudie who listened to me rant and helped me to calm down. Gracie bought me a drink and I headed back to the table wishing with every fiber of my being that the dealer would get hit with a bad case of food poisoning. I can only hope he caught the Avian Flu from patient zero.

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We waited for what seemed like an eternity for the dealer to flip up the river card. When he finally did, I saw the case 2 staring back at me. My opponent bet and I raised. He looked at me and I stared at the board. He thought for a minute before folding and I flipped up my quads. The table erupted, well not really, but I can pretend, and I got ready for my first ever wheel spin.

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The first hand after the break I actually had decent cards and I was going to push but Mrs. Head pushed first and I decided to fold. Bad play on my part as I would have won that hand but my head wasn't in the game at that point and I just didn't care.

A couple of hands later I looked down to find Ace 6 and decided those were as good as any. Steve pushed as well and the action came down to Drizz. He took his time thinking as Steve had more chips than I did and it wasn't an easy decision. Finally though Drizz called. I was up against Steve's 5 2 (I think) and Drizz's AQ. Crap, I needed a 6. Most of the table was calling for it, and I thank you all for the support, but it wasn't to be and Drizz knocked us both out of the tournament. It was time to hit the bar.

Try as I might, I couldn't get drunk. I had at least 5 drinks and barely felt a buzz. They weren't weak drinks either so I don't know what was going on. I hung out and cheered on Gracie, who went on to take 2nd place. It was fun to watch and I congratulate everyone who made it to the final table. It was a tough field and you all played great.

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I got up and headed for the wheel. The TV table was right next to it and as I spun I could hear them all shouting out their colors. Honestly it was a bit surreal and I don't remember what color the wheel finally landed on. All I know is that I won $40 and it was the second time I had hit quads this trip. No way it would happen again....right?

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