The Virgin Poker Player

Ms. Lucki Duck at Lake Tahoe

Lil' Okie Annie belongs to the same community service organization, called Sertoma, as Ms. Lucki Duck and I. After each meeting, she has invited my wife to come pitch some cards at Tin Man's NLHE Tourney. I about fell out when Ms. Duck accepted yesterday!

She was a little nervous about interacting with the other players, a few which she knew. She is a video poker player, so she knows hand rankings, but had never sat in a live poker game before. Her apprehension was caused by her lack of knowledge of the mechanics of the game. When to post blinds, how much to bet, how to deal, etc. She caught on pretty quick and we were off and running.

My only advice to her beforehand was to play tight and to fold any hands that had a card lower than a jack. If she didn't hit at least top pair on the flop, fold to any bets. I figured this would keep her in the tourney awhile so she could get into the flow of the game.

"What's a flop?" she asked.

Uh-oh, this could take a little time. I also explained how to calculate the number of BB in your stack and that you needed to get very aggressive with your hands when you get below 10BB.

She limped from UTG on the first hand. She check/called all the way to the river and took down her first pot with 4th pair. WHEEEE! Her hole cards were K-3 offsuit, with her pairing the crab on the flop. So much for playing tight.

"I thought you were only going to play hands that didn't have a card below a jack," I whispered to her.

"Oh, I forgot."

Early in the tourney I got into a good sized pot with Lil' Okie Annie. I raisied 3X from UTG with A-K offsuit, with three callers. The flop brought a king, giving me TPTK, so I bet $25, which was a little less than a pot sized bet. Lil'Annie was my only caller. The turn brought a third heart and I decided to slow down and checked. Annie checked behind, leading me to believe she hadn't hit the flush. Thr river was a blank, but Annie is pretty sneaky and will slow play a big hand. I wanted to keep the pot small, so I checked. Annie bet $20 into an $80+ pot, which I determined was a "please call me" bet. I tanked for a little bit and decided to disappoint her and folded my hand face up. Lil' Annie Okie tabled her made flush.

Nice fold Duck.

Ms. Duck got involved in a second hand when she limped with pocket kings from early position. Of course, she had several callers that saw a jack high flop. She checked, along with everyone else, until Flyboy tossed in a $10 bet. We all knew he was in trouble when Ms. Duck called. The turn and river were checked, with Ms. Duck winning her second pot.

"Hey, I have more chips than you, don't I!" she said to me, which got a round of horse laughs from the table. Sometimes the truth hurts.

She outlasted me in the tourney, as I went out in eighth when I pushed for 4 1/2 BB with K-J soooted. Flyboy called with A-T, hitting his 10 on the flop and an ace on the river and I was a goner. Ms. Duck finished fifth.

In the $2 cash game, she got A-A on her first hand, and like in the tournament, won the first hand she was dealt.

Overall, it was a tough night for both of us, as we both dropped $12 each. But, it was fun having her join us and I hope she'll do it again. Maybe she'll feel comfortable enough at the table to play a little $2-4 limit on our next trip to Vegas. We shall see.

Till next time, win the flips.