Some Poker

Last week I expressed how I was hoping the return of Rockford Charitable Games events to the Chicagoland area would mean a good month of July for poker. Last night they were in Buffalo Grove, and I decided to drive out there for some live action. The night turned out to be an emotional ride that reassured me that in poker, sometimes you just have to hang in there and grind it out.

The night started off very badly for me. When first one player hit a three outer on the turn with his QJ against my AJ, and then another turned his KJ into trip jacks against my pocket 10's, I quickly found myself more than $200 in the hole. Many players would have just packed up and called it a day after that, but I knew that I was just getting unlucky, and I am very confident in my abilities. After being allowed to see the flop for cheap with my K5 from the big blind, the flop came out 234, giving me an open-ended straight draw. I checked, there was a $20 bet from middle position, and a call from late position. I was getting almost 3:1 on my call, and my straight draw was about a 2:1 chance to hit, so I called. The turn was a 7, and I checked again. The middle position player bet $30, and the late position player called after thinking about it for a while. If he had folded, I might have as well, but his call gave me almost the exact odds I needed, and I've always said that if you are going to draw for the turn you should stick around for the river. The river was a 6, completing my straight, and I decided to lead out with an all-in bet of $53. If I had checked, they both might have checked as well, since the 6 would make a straight for anyone with a 5. By going all-in, I am now trying to represent a bluff, hoping to get paid off. The middle position player folded, and after thinking for a while, the late position player paid off my bet with his pocket 9's. Both players seemed disgusted by my "suck-out," but I was getting the proper odds the whole way. After that pot, my stack was back up over $250. I was happy to have made a hand and get back into the game, but I could never have dreamed what would happen next. After taking out a small stack when I had AQ and made a pair of queens on the flop, my stack was now $284. I was in the small blind, and a player from middle position raised it to 6 times the big blind. Everyone folded to me, and I looked down to find pocket Kings. Since there was only one other player left to act, I decided to just call instead of a raise, camouflaging the strength of my hand. The action moved over to the big blind, who had the most chips at the table, and to my surprise he announces, "All in." The middle position player quickly folds. I give him a quick stare. Could this guy actually have pocket Aces? If he did, wouldn't he make a small raise, enticing us to call? One of my fellow dealers at CCG, Andrew, a very good player in his own right, once told me that you can never fold pocket Kings preflop, no matter what the risk. I am usually an advocate of not risking all your money in a cash game before the flop, but Andrew is right. You can not fold pocket Kings preflop. "I call." There is a rush of excitement at the table. My opponent shows up AK, about a 70/30 underdog to my KK. The dealer counts out my stack, and we begin to realize that this is a $580 pot. I put my hands on top of my head, as it sinks in that an ace popping off of the deck is the difference between me getting almost $600 or going home empty-handed. The flop is 268. Perfect, no straight draws or flush draws for my opponent. The turn is a 7. The river is an 8. My Kings and Eights have just won the largest cash game pot of my young poker career. I stuck around for a few more hands, and then decided to get up and cash out. What is there to learn for me? In poker, it's impossible to win every hand, but if you stick in there, the good players will win in the end. For that other guy? It is silly to risk your entire stack preflop in a cash game with AK, especially because when someone decides to call, they will almost always have AA (88% favorite), KK (70% favorite), or QQ (57% favorite).

There are a lot of poker blogs out there, and those guys will tell you what happened whether it was exciting or not. I do love poker, and could have easily made this a poker blog. However, I felt it would be better to talk about television most of the time, and infuse some poker and other stuff when I have something interesting to talk about.

What's On?
The 79th Annual MLB All-Star Game is tonight at 8/7c on FOX. Eight Cubs and two White Sox appear on the rosters in the game that will determine whether the NL or AL will have home-field advantage in the World Series. They say 8/7c, but with all of the pregame stuff and festivities, it never starts until at least 8:30/7:30c. All friends are welcome to come over to my house and watch.