With no cards...

Just 7 other people. I wasn't going to play but thought eh, might be my last game for a while, might as well. Of the 7 there were 2 new players, both older gentlemen playing an older style of poker. It was a fairly passive group, however. Verne to my left did not raise pre-flop even once all night, Bill Rickman will occasionally raise, but not often, Barbara never raises, Gary Todd will, but if he does you know he has Aces so his raises are seldom indeed, Al raised once all night...with Aces...and John very seldom raises.

I limped once, then was folding, folding, folding. Got into a hand from big blind with J/9 spades. Flop came 10 Spades, 9 Hearts, 8 Spades. I had middle pair, open ended straight flush draw. I raised. Everyone called. Turn was a 5 diamonds. Checked around. River was a King. I checked, Verne bet, Barbara called, I folded. Barbara had a straight.

More folding. Got down a ways to about 2600 or so. Raised three times the blinds with pocket jacks. 4 callers. Flop was bad for me with a King and Queen on it. Everyone checked, I raised. They all called. Turn was an Ace. Checked around. River was a 10...yay, I made the Ace high straight. Quick check...nope, no flush possibilities. I raised. And Al came over the top to put me all in. With the nut straight, of course I called...and he had a King Jack. Split pot.

Fold, fold, pocket jacks. Raise it. Only Barbara calls. Flop comes ragged, King high. I raise, she calls. Check to the river, she hit runner runner to hit a straight...

From there on it was look for an all in hand. And I was totally card dead. Nothing. Garbage. Rot. Finally, having blinded down to just 600, Al raised, caller or two by the time it got to me, figured I was getting 4-1 on my chips with a J/9, decent drawing hand, I called all-in. Flop was ragged and low. Al bet big. Bill came over the top all in. I figured I was finished. Nope, just bad poker. Bill did that with nothing. He had A/10. No flush draw, just two big cards against someone who raised pre-flop and, with someone all-in, showed strength post-flop. Now I had 2 live cards. Neither hit and I ended the night having "won" 1 hand...the split pot.

The only two decent hands I got were the fishhooks, and both times they were cracked by K/J. That hurt.

Worst thing is, there was no such thing as bluffing anyone off a pot since virtually every one was contested at the river, including some crazy ones.

Case in point; Bill and Al raised and re-raised each other on the flop, turn, and river. And on a flush and straight heavy board, Bill showed his pair of threes he had raised 2000 on the river, and Al showed the pair of 2s he had called that river bet with. So if they will raise and call like that with nothing...well, you ain't getting them off a pot with a mere 1600 chips (what I was left with after the second Jacks hand) or less. So I had to have cards and just never got them.

It made me sad. Last night should have been John v Drew finals round 2. Sometimes you just can't catch anything or do a thing. I ended the night without a clean win.