If there's a chance it will hit!

9/20/05

Sad, Bad Beat! (On the river)

I sat down today at my favorite casino (okay well the closest one to my house) and tried my luck at $3 / $6 Limit Texas Holdem. This is a great game! Like any poker game I'm sure you've said to yourself a time or two "I can't believe that!" We've all experienced it from the winning and the loosing side but here's one that really hurt. The minimum buy-in is $30 at this table but I usually like to have enough chips to bet up the pot if I get something good, so I had a rack ($100). You don't want to have quads or something and only $20 in front of you. So I folded the first couple of hands dealt, not much for playing 9-3 or 7-2 off suit.  Third times a charm, I'm dealt an Ace of Clubs and a 10 of Hearts. I raised and then was re-raised until eventually I capped the pot at it's max of $12. The flop came Queen of Hearts, King of Clubs, Jack of Clubs. I flopped the nut straight with a an Ace high flush possibility. We both raised and re-raised until the pot was capped again, then the turn came 9 of Clubs...I think you know where this is headed. I had no idea at the time, didn't even conceive the possibilities. Sure enough we bet the pot limit again and the 10 of clubs comes on the river giving me an ace high nut flush. But wait my opponent raised and re-raised every chance he got. Betting solely on the board to pair my opponent was indeed holding a pocket pair of Queens. Unfortunately for me one was the Queen of clubs I needed for the Royal Flush! Yep, he had it...on the river a straight flush. I lost almost all my chips on that hand. Lucky for me the next hand out of spite I raised it up again till' all my chips were in the pot and several players called at the table only to find out I flopped the nuts with a full house Queens full of Jacks!