A Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Night

Today's poker words:
Raising Blind: Betting before the cards are dealt, or betting without looking at the cards that are dealt to you.
Rainbow: a flop with three different suits. There is no flush draw.
Felted: When you lose all your chips. You are down to the felt of the table top.

This is a hard post to write. It is fun writing a post after a winning session,but on Sunday night I suffered the worst poker night of my life and I really would rather not talk about it. I'd rather hide under a rock for a few days. Still, I started this blog with the intention of being open about my poker experience and I can't stop when things get ugly. And this was really ugly.

I lost $600 Sunday night and I still feel a little ill about it.

I arrived at the casino just before the hockey game ended. The plan was to fleece the hockey fans who flooded the casino post-game and it looked like the party had already started by the time I sat at a table of $1/$2 no limit. As is my habit, I took the maximum amount I was allowed, in this case $300.

The action was fast and loose. One guy in particular seemed very liberal with his bets, raising blind and calling and betting pretty much everything. What made it even better was that this guy had about $1,000 sitting in front of him. After only five hands I was dealt ace 10 off-suit - a marginal hand really, but Mr. Maniac had raised blind to $20. The two players between us folded. Normally I might fold this hand, but against a blind raise I am holding very good cards. I really want to isolate the maniac, so I raise to $40 hoping this will scare away everyone else. It does. Mr. Maniac and I are heads up to see the flop.

The flop: 10 7 3 rainbow.

This is very good for me. I have top pair with the best possible kicker. Odds are my opponent missed the flop completely, so I figure I am in great shape. Mr. Maniac is first to act. He looks at his cards for the first time and then raises $50, which stinks of bluff to me. I think he has a card (maybe two cards) higher than 10, and is just trying to push me out. Not today buddy.

I go all-in. He snap calls and turns over pocket aces. What!? Are you kidding me? I suddenly feel like the biggest idiot in the world, kissing my stack goodbye when the miracle 10 doesn't come on the turn or river.

I re-buy with the last $300 I have in my wallet. I swear I'm only going to play the nuts from now on.

The next three hours are like a nightmare. I get dealt complete garbage and have to fold, while my table mates are playing like drunken sailors. I watch as hundreds of dollars change hands. After two hours the maniac who had $1,300 (the $1,000, plus $300 from me) is completely broke and has lost another $600 on top of that. All that money flowing to everyone, it seems, but me.

Then I'm dealt pocket aces. Well, it's about *$^&ing time. I'm in late position and there are four limpers ahead of me. I want to thin the field, but I don't want everyone to fold, so I raise to $15. Everyone folds except one of the original limpers who re-raises me to $30. I consider calling, but I figure he'll call me if I re-raise him. I mean he'd look weak if he folded and at this point the table has become an all-in fest. So I raise to $60 and he pushes all in. I call of course.

He shows JJ. The fish hooks. He fell for over playing the fish hooks. I show my aces and he says a bad word.

And a jack hits on the flop.

And I don't find an ace on the turn or the river.

And I'm felted again.

So I stand up and walk out of the casino.

That, as they say, is poker.