Starving Crazed Weasels October

Decent turn-out of 9, we went one table. To my left was Emily, to her left Kevin, to his left Rick, to his left Phillip, to his left Mark, to his left Stanica, then Kenneth and finally to my right was Alan.

Early on I was raise or fold. The first hand I played I raised pre-flop, got a read, raised after the flop missed me and took down a small flop.

Second hand I played I raised an A/10 from late position after a couple of people had limped. Phillip called, as did someone else. The flop gave 3 queens. I thought Phillip liked the flop but raised anyway and he called hesitantly. Turn was a 5. I thought about raising but he had given off something saying he liked it again. I checked. The river was a 4. It was checked around. I showed my A/10 and he showed A/5...which gave him the hand with a boat. He later said had I (correctly) bet the turn he would have folded because he had me on a better pocket pair.

Then came a weak hand. I called Mark's raise with a 7/9. I knew I should fold but a couple people ahead of me called. Flop came 9 high. I had Mark on a couple high cards so I planned to raise. Then Mark raised...hmm...I revised my estimate to give him 9s with a better kicker. Then Stanica called...did she have a 9 too? I almost folded but since it was a small raise, I called. Turn came a 9 giving me chips. Mark checked. Stanica raised. I revised my estimate to give her the nines, especially since the other raises had been about 200 and hers was 500. I called. So did Mark. What was going on here? We could not all have trips...so what did they have? River was...wait for it...the case 9. I had quads. Mark checked, Stanica raised 500. Here I made a mistake. My initial thought was, as it had been back on the turn, to re-raise. I merely called. On the bright side, so did Mark, so not knowing if Stanica would call or not, maybe I earned an extra 500. But maybe I could have gotten more out of her with a raise? We don't know...but she probably would have with a full house. And that is what she had but my quads held up.

Then I went card dead for the most part. Not involved in too many hands. When I did come in I came in raising but there was not a lot of respect for my raises. I regularly got 4 and 5 callers. I had A/Q, raised it, flop came 4/6/7 and one of my callers bet it. My cards almost beat the raise into the muck. From the big blind with A/8 picked up gut shot but with a raise, re-raise, and call in front of me folded it. Fold, fold, fold, fold.

Stanica was first out, falling to Kenneth. Mark pretty quickly followed, as did Kevin and Kenneth. We were down to 500 and my 7 or 8K was down to less than 4K. I started pushing. Alan folded, I looked down at pocket deuces, all-in. Everyone folded, I picked up the blinds. A couple hands later in the big blind they folded to Alan who started to fold, noticed it was just he and I, called, I went all-in with some garbage like a 5/7 suited, he folded. Picked up a few more blinds, about one a circuit.

Finally, on Phillip's big blind I picked up A/9. Alan folded, 4 handed that is better than 30% to win if everyone calls, and if I can isolate I am almost 60% to win so I went all-in. Folded to Phillip who called with pocket 10s. Uh-oh, I was drawing to 3 outs. Flop was good for Phillip, K/rag/rag. Turn was another King so I was drawing to 3 aces.

One of the things I take pride in is it is seldom indeed that I put a bad beat on someone. Except for those times I deliberately donkey (like the A/2s all-in at Mixers when I needed to go to the softball game) I seldom get in with the worst hand. It happens sometimes, but not often. I like to have the odds in my favor and usually do. As a result, I ABSORB a lot of bad beats but do not give them out very often.

This was an exception. He was better than a 85-14 favorite but I hit my Ace on the river to climb back over 5K. No doubt I will say that was a bad beat. Would not have been so bad had it hit on the flop when I was only a 3-1 dog...but at the river I was a 6-1 dog and that is brutal. But it was enough chips that for the first time in a while I was out of the danger zone.

I raised a couple times, took down small pots, but also folded a couple blinds to raises...on one I had Alan on a bully raise from the small blind (he and Emily were both dominant chip leaders with Rick, Phillip and I trading back and forth short-stack duties)...but with 8/2o, still no way I could call.

Then I played a hand weakly. Under the Gun I limped with Q/K diamonds, the blinds were 3/600 and everybody called so there was 3000 in the pot. Flop hit nobody, turn was a diamond giving me a 4 flush and river gave me the flush, though there was a straight flush on the board. Phillip & Alan both checked, I went all-in. Should have made a smaller raise, didn't. For a bit I thought Alan might call and I was hoping he would but he didn't.

Now I was over 8K, there was about 45K in play so I was in third. Picked up pocket 4s. No longer felt I had to push so I jacked it to 2400. Rick called, everyone else folded. He checked the flop with a couple face cards on it. I raised all-in and he folded. I picked up his 2400 and a couple blinds to get over 10K for the first time all night.

Unfortunately that would be the high point.

Went card dead again. Lots of folding ensued. Emily took out Rick when he made a huge bluff and she correctly read him for just needing to go home.

Phillip got ground down and Emily mercy-eliminated him. I was down to about 4500. I was looking for a chance to double up. Emily was dealing, I picked up J/10 suited, a hand I sometimes weakly play because I like it as a drawing hand. With 2 opponents it loses 56% of the time. Why would I raise that? Well, Emily took that opportunity, raising it. Alan called. Emily was playing really, really well all night so I had her on a pair. Alan was playing a weird game but I had him on a pair or couple high cards so I got out of the way.

Flop came Jack high. Alan checked, Emily raised 1000, Alan came over the top to 3600, Emily called. Turn was another Jack. Emily raised to 1000, Alan re raised to 3600, Emily called. I had Emily on a higher pocket pair. Alan had looked at the second Jack really weird. I thought maybe Emily had something like A/J or maybe Alan did but if he didn't then I was trying to figure out why he was still in the hand...and vice versa, if I was right about her having an over pair, with his re-raise on the flop a Jack would have made a lot of sense. And now the pot was huge.

River was an Ace. Emily checked, Alan raised 3600, Emily came over the top all-in for her last 10,700. Wow. I still had her either on the over pair or A/J and Alan went into the tank for a long time leading me to believe he had to have something like J/K, maybe a pocket pair himself....and he called.

Emily flipped up pocket 8s. I was a little surprised, I thought she had something better than that but she showed a lot of courage playing that hand with an over on the board, and then the board pairing itself. What's more...she had the better hand. Until the river. Alan was playing an A/6. He hit the Ace on the river to give him a higher two pair and take Emily out.

I had 4400, there was about 45K in play...that is a huge deficit. First hand I picked up A/3o. I needed to double up a LOT and that hand wins over 56% of the time against one random hand. Unfortunately, Alan picked up pocket 6s. I was a 7-3 dog...and he got help, putting me away with a flush on the river.

Over all I actually think I more or less played well. I played strong cards for the most part, mixed up my play a little bit with some carefully timed plays with connectors, stole the blinds probably 7 or 8 times to keep myself alive...that was with well-timed aggression where I was probably going to double up, best case scenario, or steal the blinds, worst case scenario. I nursed a short stack for a good portion of the night, stayed patient, picked my spots, and just did not get the cards I need. I did get lucky once when I put the bad beat on Phillip but I then took advantage of my good fortune and stuck around. I don't think I could have finished any higher with the cards I got and at the end of the day, that makes me feel pretty good about my play.