I wanted to go to the casino early as I could on Sunday morning hoping that there might be some guys that had been there all night and were too tired to play well. It is not at all uncommon for a poker game to go right through the night, and coming in fresh against guys who'd been up twenty four hours seems like a smart plan.
There was indeed a table going when I walked into the poker room - six players who, unfortunately for me, looked very alert and fresh. I guess I wasn't the only one with the Sunday morning surprise attack plan. Oh well, I'm here so I might as well play right? I buy in for $200 and take a seat to the left of a very sharky looking red-headed kid wearing an expensive purple silk shirt and a Breitling watch. This dude has about $400 in chips, so he has been winning. The other five players, counter clockwise from Sharky Kid, are Old Asian Guy (later to be re-named Crazy Chinese Gambler) Non-Descript Asian Woman (later to be re-named The Iron Lady) Talky Black Dude (who will be the one guy that later on makes my blood run cold), A blingy East Indian kid I dub Too-Much-Cologne-Boy and to my immediate left a thin, bearded, older white fellow with an aura of quiet toughness - guy I can easily imagine that has seen action in the military so I name him The Vietnam Vet.
The dealer asks me if I want to super post and I decline but on the next hand he again asks me if I want to come in and feeling a little itchy to play I post the $2. I am immediately glad that I posted because on my very first hand I'm dealt pocket aces. Sweet.
It's always great to get AA, but it's particularly nice to get it on the first hand you play because nobody else has a read on you yet. A nit like me often doesn't get paid off for monster hands, but these guys don't know I'm a nit yet. I raise to $15 and get two callers - Too-Much-Cologne-Boy and Sharky kid. The flop comes Qc 5d Jh. Sharky kid leads out with a $15 bet (does he have a queen? I hope so.) and I re-raise to $35, a move in keeping with the loose aggressive image I'm hoping to project. TMCB calls and so does Sharky.
After the turn the board looks like this: Qc 5d Jh Kc. This makes me very nervous. Its possible that I'm now way behind one of these two has A10 or 9 10 or a set or two pair...and then there is the flush draw to worry about. But Sharky just checks and I feel he's afraid of same things I'm afraid of, so I bet $60. TMCB folds (yea!) and Sharkey thinks long and hard before calling. I take heart from the amount of time Sharkey takes to call - I don't think he has the straight.
There is about $270 in the pot when the river makes the board look like this: Qc 5d Jh Kc Jc. Sharkey dosen't seem to like that river. He thinks and thinks and then looks at me.
"You have pocket Aces, don't you?"
Normally I don't reply to questions like this, but for some reason I think a little reverse psychology is in order. I reply "Can you believe it? On my very first hand too!" Is he really afraid of the aces? Or is he trying to goad me into a bad call? I have no idea.
Sharkey finally bets $100 - which is more than I have left. Oh, shit. Now pocket clubs beat me too, but since one of my aces is a club, I feel a bit better - would a sharky guy chase a flush draw with anything less than the best flush possible? I engage in wishful thinking and decide he wouldn't. Of course I'm behind a full house or a straight too, but with only $90 left I am pot committed. Shit shit shit shit. Am I going to bust out on my first freaking hand !?!?!?
I take a deep breath and call. The second I announce my call Sharky says "You have the aces." I flip over my hand and he starts cursing, "Fuck, fuck, fuck! I knew it!" He turns over K Q and for a second I'm confused - he has two pair! Then I realize the jack on the river gave me a better two pair - what incredible luck!
As I rake in my pot. Sharkey continues to berate himself. Telling me he knew I had aces because my hands were shaking and I seemed really excited. This is news to me but I notice that yes, my hands are trembling. A lot. I need to watch that. But going from $200 to $450 in one hand makes me feel better about things.
This might be a very good day.
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