Kings AND Aces

Yes, the title of this post is Aces and Kings.  Not Aces vs. Kings.  Been there, done that (multiple times).  I didn't get Aces vs. someone's Kings or vice-versa.  I got Aces and Kings in back-to-back hands (actually, it was Kings first, then the Aces).  So gather around, kiddies, and let me tell you about it.

This happened in my most recent session in Ventura, the 1/2 game with a $100 max buy-in.  The second hand of the session I was under-the-gun and was dealt Ace-4 of hearts.  I limped in.  Next player raised to $7 and four of us saw a flop.  I noticed the King of hearts in the window and got a bit excited.  The other two cards were also red and in fact both hearts.  Flopping the nuts on your second hand of the day isn't too shabby, is it?

I checked, hoping the preflop raiser would continue, but he checked.  However, the only lady at the table bet $8 and I decided to just call to see if one or two others would come along.  The preflop raiser did indeed call and the other player folded.  There was another heart on the turn which I thought might kill my action.  But I decided to check again and see if the lady would bet again.  In fact, she did.  She shoved, but it wasn't much.  Again I just called hoping the other guy would call (or even better, raise), but he meekly folded.  The action was over and the river was a blank and I flipped over my hand at the same time the lady did.  She had Queen-8 of hearts.  Oh well, sucks to be her. 

The best thing about the hand was not the money I made, but that it caused the lady to leave the table, busted.  That was good because she was replaced at the table by another lady. This lady was definitely +EV for me.  She+ had a British accent, tho it was obvious she lived in the neighborhood now and was in fact a reg here.

I went for a long time without getting anything to play.  When I did play a hand, I whiffed the flop pretty badly.  Then all of a sudden I looked down at my old friends, the dreaded pocket Kings, in the big blind. Now the details on this hand may be a little off because I immediately got involved in another significant hand immediately after this one—before I had a chance to write my notes on it.  But my best recollection is that someone in early position raised to $8 and a bunch of players called the $8. It was at least three callers, maybe four.  Because when it came to me, I did the math and figured I had to bet $50.

It makes sense.  My typical three bet is 3X, but then I add on the amounts of any callers.  So if it was three callers, it would be $24 plus another $24 for the three callers and you're at $48.  I guess I rounded up—or if it was four callers, I rounded down.  But the bet made sense to me.

Well, this may have been the first time I raised at this table, and it was definitely my first three-bet.  Some of the other players gasped.  One-by-one they all folded and I took down the pot uncontested.  Which was pretty cool because it wasn't a bad pot with all the callers and did I mention it was pocket Kings?  Winning that much with the dreaded hand without having to see the flop works for me.  The other players were saying things like, "Well he didn't want to see a flop," or "He has Aces."  But honestly, regardless of what I had, how much was I supposed to raise there with a hand I wanted to raise with?  Making it $20 would have been ridiculous.

I just shrugged and started to stack my chips.  Of course I didn't say anything to reveal what I actually had.

By the way, one of the players who called the original raise was the aforementioned British woman.  By this time she had established herself as an aggressive player, and had been caught in a few bluffs (never showing the bluff if she could help it, but mucking when her opponent called her and showed like third pair).  She had busted a time or two and had to re-buy.

So I was still stacking my chips when I got my two cards for the very next hand.  I was stunned to see another pocket pair.  This time it was two Aces!  And not incidentally, they were both red.  I couldn't believe I had gotten Kings and Aces back-to-back. I am certain I never got Kings and Aces on consecutive hands before, but I think I may have heard about someone doing it, or maybe even seen it.  It was quite amazing.  Of course, you know me.  My first thought was, well, I had won the hand with Kings, surely these Aces are gonna cost me.  Yeah, I gotta work on my attitude.

Anyway, I was the small blind and my next thought was, well, it will fold to me and it'll be a chop.  But no, someone opened the pot to $4, there was a call or two and then the British lady made it $12, bless her little heart.  It folded to me and this time I made it $40.  It quickly folded back to the Brit who took some time.  I was hoping maybe she'd re-pop it but no, she finally just called.

The flop was 7-7-3, two diamonds.  Well, hard for me to believe she had three-bet with any hand that that flop had connected with.  I put out $60 which I thought was about how much she had left, give or take.  Again she took some time but she put out the rest of her chips, which turned out to be a few less than my bet.  We didn't show.

The turn was another diamond, which made me slightly nervous, but then the river was yet another diamond.  Did I mention that both my Aces were red?  Yes, I believe I did.  So instead of Aces and 7's I now had the nut flush.  I flipped over my hand and the British Lady slow-rolled me.

Well, I guess that's not the right expression.  Slow-roll implies she had the winning hand and took her sweet time to reveal it.  But no, she had the losing hand and took her sweet time to let it go.  What's that called?  A "slow-fold"?  A "slow-muck?"  Anyway, she just sort of froze, held her cards, still face down, in front of her and said, "I was good until the river."  But still didn't show her cards or let go of them.  She didn't look at them herself either.  She just sat there holding them out.  I said, "Show 'em!"  But she didn't.  Finally she just slid them face down to the dealer, conceding the pot.  A slow-fold.

Well, I was perfectly happy to drag the pot, but I did wonder what she had.  The only way she could have had me until the river was if she had a 7 or if she had two diamonds.  The 7 seems unlikely because if she had a 7 she would have called/shoved instantly on the flop.  She wouldn't have thought about it. The flush?  Well she couldn't have had Ace-King of diamonds. King-Queen of diamonds?  Maybe she three-bets with that? 

I totally haven't ruled out the possibility that she was lying when she said she had me until the river.  I mean if she had a flush on the turn, she'd probably have shown it, right?  I think she might have just said that to make herself look better, but who knows.

She had to re-buy again, but she left the table to get more money first.  I dunno if she went to the ATM or perhaps her husband but she eventually came back with $100 more in chips.

Meanwhile, I was quite happy about this turn of events.  Getting the two premium hands back-to-back was really nice, and winning with both of them even nicer.

While she was gone, I got Ace-Jack of clubs, raised to $8 after one limper and didn't get a call.  I bet she would have called!

When she got back, I got pocket 5's and called her $8 raise.  It was heads up.  The flop was Ace-Jack-3.  She put out a $15 c-bet. I couldn't see calling.  That flop really hit her range and though it was certainly possible she didn't have an Ace or a Jack, it didn't make any sense to invest any more money on the hand.  I let it go.  She seemed upset.  "But you always call me."  I just laughed and realized she hadn't been paying attention.  I never called her, I always raised her.  But it seemed to me like she was disappointed she wasn't able to get more of her money back from me.

Then, when she straddled (under-the-gun, for $4), I got pocket Kings again.  Yikes.  Now I felt I was really pushing my luck.  It folded to me and I dutifully made it $12.  It folded back to her and she called.  The flop was all low cards.  I bet $20 and she tanked a little bit but folded.

And that was that.  After a few more orbits with nary a hand to play, I called it a day.  I booked a $120 profit.  I got Aces & Kings back-to-back, and even got Kings a second time.  And won all those hands.  No monster pots, but a $120 profit for a $100 buy-in is certainly favorable.

Now, I'm sure you're all asking, what does the woman depicted above have to do with this post?  Actually, I'm pretty sure no one is asking.  But my pics always tie-in to my stories, even if it's only tangentially.  It's a rule I have. So, this woman is a British model, and my story features a woman from England.  Now I assure you the woman in my story looks nothing like this lady above, nor was she in any way remotely dressed like this.  But I will point out that if she did look like this model, and if she had been dressed like her, I might not have minded losing all my money to her.