Sloe Times

So I finally get the work week shut down, the boy down to sleep so I can jump online and play some cards which started with a funk because apparently everyone else already bailed for the night. *sniff* I showered today, honest guys! Ok, so I'll have to role solo and I look for a good table. I find the aptly named "Bluffers only" table to be in the realm of Party_Juicy_Goodness(tm). I end up tossing in just behind the button and of course get the crap you're supposed to get when you do that. Four hands later I catch J8s and fold them out too. Of course the deal is 8c, 8s, 4c, 7s, Ac and after the showdown I think to myself, gosh I wish I had had a pair of 8s. So, 6th hand in I get dealt... a pair of 8s. Hmm, ok so now that I've exerted my mental control over Party I guess I can play this in early position. It also seemed fortunate that there was someone at my table with '888' in their name. Obviously the stars were aligned and the entrails told of fortune and glory. So I limp in with my pair. Now would you know it, Mr. 888 raises it up to $5. I'm getting kind of bummed because I really wanted to play this hand. Lo and behold, 3 people call it before it gets back to me and I'm thinking well... 4 other people in. I do have a pocket pair, and I did get it when I asked for it. Let's play and ask for more 8s. So, I call and begin my chant, "8, 8, 8, 8" and the dealer ignored me and threw down 5c, 3c, 2h. The nerve. Well, at least he kept it under my pair so I check since I'm first to act to see what happens. 888 goes all in for 17.50 hmm, big cards or big pair? I think big cards I way over-bet the pot pre-flop which just comes off as weak to me. Apparently to everyone else too because they called the pre-flop bet. Let's see what happens now. One fold, one call, second fold, and it's now on me. I kind of wish that other fellow hadn't called, I was gonna do it. And then I think to myself, well if I was going to do it, why don't I still get in there? I then figure that the first caller has to have something to be calling with, the question that comes to mind is if it is bigger than what I have, or maybe even a set? Think, think, think, time is running out. Oh bloody hell, it's only $25 and I shove all in for 19.50 and the original caller also calls. The pots are $75.25 in the main and $4 in the side. The turn is a 6h so I'm still bigger than the board for a pair, but a 4x would suck. So we kick the chanting up to a new level and sound like the worshipers in the Temple of Doom asking for an 8 from Kali-Ma. Once again, my mental powers over the digital and ethereal succeed and the river is an 8d. My set of 8s reigns supreme and I scrape $79.25. Hmm, 6 hands tripled up... that more than met my goal for the evening (double or bust) I guess I'll go.

Now, what the heck was I thinking here? Calling a big pre-flop bet with a middle pair, and putting myself all-in after the flop behind two others that were more than eager to do the same. From a technical perspective this was just plain bad play. I completely mis-read 888, and disregarded the other opponents bet. At the very least the caller of 888's all-in had to have me beat, not much of a chance an extra $2 bet was going to scare him away. I got lucky, plain and simple. The caller had QQ in the hole and 888 had AA in the hole. I do not claim to have ESP or any other divinative abilities, but when you get something like this and you do expend some mental energy on visualizing and trying to 'cause' the outcome, you got to wonder, is there jelly in my jelly roll? And go figure, I called JW a fish (a little pot and kettle action there). Yes, I'm the font of wisdom to be sure.

And just so I could keep the balance of my karma I went and played some $0.50/$1 and couldn't hit a flop to save my soul. I think I caught every two card combination of A-T except for any pocket pairs, and couldn't get a flop to hit me. I tried playing aggressive at first and raising them up pre-flop but I'd either miss completely or a dreaded over card (or two) would come up. Then I tried limping in after about $10 worth of misses. That didn't help either. I'll presume the poker gods were angry with my earlier play and have cursed me for the rest of the day. Hopefully my tithe of $19 will pacify them at least until after the blogger tourney on Sunday.