Poker is Easy

I attended a local poker game last week, one I hadn't been to in several months. The last time I played, I walked away with a $400 profit in their $1-2 NLHE game.

I had heard that the game had gotten quite wild since I had been.

"One, two, forty," is how one of my friends described the game. Some of the new players were well financed, and I've learned that it's hard to win when your opponents don't care about the money.

But, it had been a while and I had an open evening, so I made the half hour drive and hoped for good cards.

I bought in for $200 and peeked down at the "dreaded pocket kings" on my first hand. We were six-handed and I was in middle position. There was one limper in front of me and I raised to $10. The big blind and limper both called. The queen high flop was dry, with the BB betting almost full pot. The limper folded and I smooth called. The turn card looked harmless, but the BB shoved.

Well, hell.

Recalling my buddies description of how wild the game had gotten, I thought it was possible the BB only had top pair. After a moment I made the call and was shown A-Q. The river didn't help him and I doubled-up on my first hand.

Nice!

The very next hand I was dealt pocket aces.

"You've got to kidding me!" I thought.

There was a raise to $8 in front of me and I three-bet to $24 from the cut-off. The button called, as did the original raiser and we saw the flop three handed. Unlike the previous hand, this A-Q-T flop had a lot of chemistry. I had top set, but there was an obvious straight possibility and also two clubs. The original raiser checked and I tossed 12 redbirds out. Both villains called.

The turn was another Q and also hit any flush draws. The original raiser pushed for his last $160. I just called with my full house, hoping the button would come along for the ride. Even better, he shoved and I insta-called and flipped my aces-full. The original raiser had the nut flush and the button showed Q-T for queens full.

Why would you call a three bet with Q-T? This was a wild game indeed!

Two hands in and I'm up $520.

Sah-weet!

Definitely the fastest start I've had at a poker table.

I played for a few more hours, missed a few draws, and occasionally hitting a hand before racking my chips and cashing out with a $450 profit.

Easy-peasy!

Till next time, win the flips.