Four Hookers in Kinder, LA

So I couldn't resist the draw of the Coushatta poker room after having such a successful session last weekend. This time, I decided to try the Sunday afternoon crowd.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived is that the Sunday crowd is much, much smaller. I figured that meant fewer fish and maybe things would be a little tougher this time. I got my name on the NL list and headed to the craps table.

When I heard my name called for a new NL table at 3:00pm, I had $45 left from my $140 in the rack in front of me, and $120 on the table waiting for a 7. It came on the next roll and I finished up about $85. It was a good start... but not necessarily a sign of things to come.

The Quick Slide Down

First hand I'm dealt pocket 10's, I raise it up and everyone folds. Second hand I'm dealt A2 of diamonds, flop comes A-x-x, I bet out and everyone folds. I'm up $8. Let's just say up $8 would sound really, really good in about an hour and a half.

A few hands later, I'm dealt ATo on the button. I raise to $10 (remember, blinds in this NL game are $1/$3, and the buy in is $100 min/$200 max), and I get called by the BB. I measured my opponent. He was a player, clearly. He had the chip tricks down, he knew all the dealers. He bet confidently and created an image of a good player. That doesn't mean he was, but that's the image he gave off. I'm not sure what image I give off... but I digress.

The flop comes K-Q-9, two clubs, no help for me. But since I raised out and he called from the BB, I figured I'd take a stab at the pot. He checked, I bet $20 and he cold called immediately. I thought maybe clubs. The turn paired my T. He checked again and I bet $40. He raised to $80.

Okay, now what. Did he make the call on the flop figuring to make a move on me on the turn no matter what fell? Did he have a K, a Q or a did he have a J and now has his straight. Really, what possible hands could he have that I actually beat? A-rag? Instead of rationally thinking through all that, I call. The river is a blank, he pushes all in and I fold. Could I have played the hand more poorly? I'm down to $87.

A few hands later, it's J5s in the SB. I complete. The flop brings two diamonds, including the A. I'm on the draw. I check and it's bet $20. I call with one other. The turn is a blank, but it does give me a gut shot draw. I check, it's bet $25 and I'm the only caller. The river is a blank. I check, he cheks and shows A5 for two pair. I'm down under $50. RE-BUY!

JTs and Rockets both net me small pots, but not as much as I'd hope to get out of them.

Then I'm looking at AJo when the flop comes A-x-x, all spades. I check raise from $25 to $75 to see where I'm at. Yeah, I know, it sounds pretty dumb to me when I read it, too. I get two callers. The turn is a fourth spade and I have to fold. The showdown ended up being AQ (spade) vs. K (spade) Q. Let's just say I was way behind the whole way. I'm down again to $120.

So there it is. Just an hour and a half into the session, I'm down $280 and playing really stupid poker. Maybe I should get out and cut my losses.

Times A-Changin'?

With A8 of hearts, I check from the BB. I was getting pretty gun shy at that point and I think it was obviously hurting my play. The flop is Q-x-x, two hearts. I check and it's checked around. Maybe a bet there at least wins me the blinds or makes my flush draw more valuable, but I'd been hurting.

The turn is my heart and I'm looking at the nuts. I check and it's bet 10 in front of me, I just call. I want value on the river. Right play? I don't know. The river is a K, putting a possible straight on the board. Maybe I slow played it enough for him to catch a hand?

I bet out 20 and he quickly raises to 40. If he wanted to buy it, he'd have pushed. He must have a hand because he's begging for a call. I push for my final $96. He waits a bit and then calls. I flip the nuts, he flips a small flush. The table commends me for my check on the turn. It worked, for once.

I'm now at about $300, down $100 for the session. And at 5:15pm, I get moved to the main table. I'm now at a bit of a disadvantage because I don't know the players, and many of them have much bigger stacks than me.

How a Rock Tightens Up

Apparently the message at this table was "No Limping Allowed." With my relatively meager stack, and considering my poor play thus far, I wasn't planning to make any moves unless I had the cards.

It wasn't long before I looked down at Cowboys in the BB. It was raised to 15 in front of me by a pretty aggressive player on the button. I put him on a steal and I re-raised to 55. He called pretty quickly. I put him on an Ace and hoped it didn't hit the flop.

The dealer flips K-T-3, rainbow. I've got bells and whistles going off in my head. I check and he checks. Yeah, I know, I tend to slow play. Remember that when Vegas rolls around. The turn is a 7, the second spade. I bet 40 and he cold calls. Is he on a straight draw (QJ)? Is he now on a flush draw?

The river is a 9 of spades. Dammit. That's the straight or the flush. Did I just slow play this into second best? I bet 50 and pushes all in for another $135. That would leave me $7 if I lose and would send me home. I pull out the chips and think about it.

"Tony, I'll need to rebuy," he says as he reaches in his pocket and pulls out $200.

"What?" I ask, not sure I heard him.

"Well, if you're calling, I'm beat, so I'll need to rebuy," he tells me.

What the hell does that mean? I fight with this in my head wondering if he's trying to induce a call or not. I have to call. What hands could I put him on that he's calling my $55 re-raise? Whatever it is, my trip K's beat it. I call. He shows just the 3 of hearts while mucking his other card. I'm up to $542.

A few hands later, it's AQo. I just check from the BB. I guess I should have raised, but I thought maybe I'd disguise the strength of my hand in case an A fell. It did, A-8-7. It's checked all the way around. Yep, there's that slowplaying again. It will kill me eventually.

The turn is a blank. It's bet $30 from the guy in the SB. He's wearing a stain Coushatta Casino jacket and a felt hat of some kind (I wish I knew what kind so I could describe it better). I raise to $60 and he calls. The river is a 5. He bets out $100.

Damn, did he catch his straight? Or was he playing A-rag and hit two pair. That's what I actually imagined in his hand. But it's the hand I wanted and if I played it into a loser than I've learned a lesson. I call and he flips 56. He had a straight draw and caught a pair on the river. Apparently the table thought I could be run over because that's twice they've thrown big money into a pot with a marginal hand. I'm up to $680. And things are looking up!

Get the Manager Over Here!

It's the Hilton Sisters. They always get me in trouble. So I raise to $15 and get two callers. The flop comes T-9-x. I bet $40 into a guy with just $118 in front of him and he hems and haws before pushing all-in. I call quickly and flip up my Q's.

For some reason, my opponent didn't flip his cards. The turn is a blank and the river is another T. Before I know it, his cards are in the muck and he's screaming for them back. It happened so fast, I didn't even see it. Apparently, he attempted the most dramatic flip possible and his cards landed face down beside the muck, touching dead cards.

He starts screaming something about 9's full of T's and asks the dealer for his cards back. The dealer rightly informs him that mucked cards are dead and that the player is responsible for taking care of his own cards. You know, like when I calmly flipped my cards directly in front of me.

The manager comes over, hears the story and helps the dealer pull out the two 9's and flips them. It wasn't hard to figure out which two cards were his. That wasn't the point. He had the hand. That wasn't the point. Unfortunately for me, the manager decided to ressurrect his hand, with a stern warning and never asked for my opinion.

I suppose I could have put up a fight. I didn't. I suppose he had me beat, and he did flop the set, but the pot should have been mine. That was his mistake. I didn't fight it and merely hoped karma would bring it back to me. I was at $565 now.

But Where Are the Four Hookers!?!?!?!?

If you've gotten this far, you must think the title is just a big lie. Okay, I'm getting to it... bear with me.

Let's just say my donation to karma made a big difference. That would be the last big pot I would lose. The rush was on.

J8s brought me a flush that took me to $610.

KT flopped two pair beating the Hilton Sisters. I'm at $750.

I flopped a set of 9's and had the guy in the satin jacket betting into me. I'm up to $865.

I've got Big Slick with an A on the flop and an A on the river. My opponent calls me the whole way before saying at the river, "I can't beat Big Slick." He flips AQ and I'm at $1150.

Pocket A's hold up and take me to $1250.

And then it happened.

I look down at two black jacks. Some people call 'em Fish Hooks, I prefer to call them Hookers. And, yes, I've got just two of them.

I raise to $15 and get just one caller. The dealer flips the flop cards and I see a red J. Great! Then I see him slide out an A. Even better! And finally, another red J. I just flopped quads.

I've never flopped quads in my life. I'd like to see the security camera video of it to see just how I reacted. I think I hid it extremely well!

Naturally, I check. If I'm willing to slow play top pair, I'm damn well gonna slow play quads! He bets $20 and I cold call. My plan was to make sure I get every chip in front of him.

The turn is a T. I check. He bets $40. I cold call again. The river is a K. I check. He bets $50 and I raise to $100, putting him all in. He was pot commited at this point and I knew he would call. The check on the river was dangerous because he could have gotten away from the hand without losing any more, but I knew he would bet.

He looks at me and says, "You have pocket A's don't you?" That's when I perhaps let a little disappointment show. I was praying he had pocket A's because then we would have qualified for the $28,000 bad beat jackpot. He reluctantly calls and flips Big Slick. I show my quads and the table erupts. I'm up to $1500.

I peek at a few more pots over the next 45 minutes and at 9:30pm, I stand up with my $1400 and leave the casino. My best session ever.

By the way, I promised I'd also include this...

The guy who pushed me off my first pot is named Todd. He seems like a pretty solid player although he didn't have his best session Sunday. He's also starting a new poker room with his brother, and I'll hopefully have more information on that for you, too.

Oh, and a really attractive dealer named Leah gave Todd a pretty hard time. You gotta watch what you say to her, she'll come right back over the top of you and you'll fold. I promise!

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