Ending With a Thud

I'm returning to L.A. tomorrow.  Up until a few nights ago, I was having a nice run at the poker tables, then all of a sudden.....

Well, I almost can't wait to get out of town after my last few sessions.  I'm gonna give it one last shot after I post this, but let me give a brief summary of what's been happening here lately.

Thursday, a nice session was ruined when I flopped a set and a guy playing 7-4 rivered a straight.  I still managed to leave ahead, but that took a big chunk of my profits for the evening.

Next night, I ran two more sets into straights.  Both straights were flopped.  I guess I should just autofold sets.  That was not a profitable session.

Yesterday, third hand of the Binion's tournament, I rivered a set of 9's (I floated the flop thinking the guy might be c-betting AK, and there was no turn bet).  The 9 gave him a straight (that's four sets-into-straights in less than 36 hours, if you're counting at home).  I didn't really put him on it because in order to make the straight he would have had to have raised preflop with 8-6.  But that's exactly what he did.  But you know, it was sooooted.

My tournament ended a few hours later when I raised preflop first in with Ace-9 off.  One caller.  I checked-shoved the flop which was Ace-Jack-10.  She snap called and showed King-Queen.

At least that finally gave me time to try a Deep Fried Twinkie, which will make angerisagift happy, since he's been begging me to try them forever.  I think he actually prefers the Deep Fried Oreos, but I thought I would go into sugar shock if I tried both, and the twinkie appealed to me more.  It was damn good, I have to admit.  Is there a Doctor in the house?

Later, my early session at MGM.  A few hands in, I called a straddle with pocket 7's.  I flopped a set, on a 7-6-4 board, two hearts.  I bet the flop.  I bet the turn.  The river was the Jack of hearts.  My opponent bet out.  I called $62 because, new to the table, I couldn't be sure he wasn't bluffing or perhaps the Jack gave him two pair or whatever.  I had already put over $100 into the pot so I couldn't see folding.  He had King-5 of hearts, so with the open ended straight and flush draws, he wasn't going anywhere.

I added $100 and then within a half hour was dealt pocket Aces.  A new guy had come to the table a few hands earlier.  He was pulled from that table for a few hands to talk to guy with a name badge and a suit.  I thought it might be a security issue but then I realized, after they shook hands, that the guy in the suit was a casino host.  Anyway, this guy had raise to $5.  Four players called the $5 in front of me.  I made it $25 with my Aces.  Only the original raiser called.

The flop was Queen high, two diamonds.  Neither of my bullets was a diamond.  I bet $60, which was more than half my remaining stack.  The villain, who had me covered, shoved.  I called.  We didn't show.  I was happy that no more diamonds hit.  Not so happy when the turn was a second Queen.  King on the river.

The guy showed me Queen-4.  Offsuit.  Seriously.  OK, if you wanna raise to $5 for shits and giggles, I get it.  But calling a $25 three-bet with it?  Seriously.  I didn't say anything, though he might have noticed steam coming out of my ears.  He said, "Better to be lucky than good."

Small consolation that when all the money went in, I was ahead.

For more fun, after dinner I flopped a set of Queens and a guy who called my preflop raise with Ace-3 of hearts caught his nut-flush on the river.  Earlier, this same guy had slow-rolled me when he had the absolutely nuts (another Ace-high flush) against my top pair-top kicker hand.  I called him (it was a small bet and I thought he might have had a weaker King than I had) and he took forever to show the absolute nuts.  So it was especially galling to lose again to him.  At least this second time he didn't slow-roll me.  

At the Aria tournament just now, I didn't have any bad beats.  Just no cards to play.  So maybe that's an improvement.

And yet I am about to go out and try this poker thing one last time.  Perhaps I should seek psychiatric help instead.

Anyway, just for fun, here's a few gratuitous pics that have nothing to do with this post but cheer me up.