Friday night poker

The bad beats continue to slap me around...

I played in a $55 tourney on Friday, with 18 people in. Things started off ok, I was up to $4000 from $2000. 10 people left, and I get AK in the small blind. Everyone folds, and I raise it up to $200, blinds are $25/50. The player to my left, in the Big Blind, is VERY loose, and overall a bad player. He raises it another $150, and I know he's got crap, so I go all-in. He calls with his crap, and shows QJ offsuit. The first card off is a J, and I don't catch so I lose $3400 chips.

Next hand, on the button, I'm dealt AK again. This time there are 2 callers, so I go all-in. Someone calls with 4d5d, and they proceed to kick me in the nuts when the cards come out 5 3 9 Q 5.

So I go to the cash table, playing 1/2 NL.

I buy-in for $100. I tried to bluff someone who was holding the small end of a full house (I thought he had just Ace high), so I lost the $100.

I buy-in again for $100. I'm in the big blind, there is a $12 raise, two callers. I have 88. The original raiser is brutal, he raises A rag, K rag, anything. The other two I don't think are that strong since they just called, so I re-raise all-in for $70. First raiser folds, but one of the callers (another brutal player) calls. He shows AJ offsuit. The first card off is an 8, so I'm looking great. But the next four cards are all clubs, and he makes an Ace high flush to beat my set.

I buy-in again for $100. There is a $10 raise, I hold Q 10 hearts, I call, another player calls. Flop is 8 9 J... rainbow. I flop the nuts. First guy bets $25, I go all-in for $80, first raiser folds, and the other guy calls. He shows 88 for a set of eights. Turn 3, river 9, pairing the board to give him a full house.

I was going to leave, cutting my loses at $355, but I decided to buy-in again for $100. I managed to build my stack up to $500 with a combination of good hands that actually held up (KK vs JJ, AK vs K9 and K8). And I also took advantage of my reputation as a very tight player when I've won back chips I had earlier lost, and bluffed 3 big pots away from a maniac of a player that gives me too much respect.

So the final tally was a profit of $45... not much, but it made me very happy since I was in for $455.