I Finally Found a Hand to Play

This was my Friday night session in Vegas in July.  It was my first—and, as it turned out, my only—visit to the MGM this trip.  This session is basically all about one big hand that I didn't play well but, you know, luck is a good thing.

I was quite card dead for most of the session, and it was kind of a decent game.  After texting me to see where I was playing, my pal Don showed up, but we never played at the same table.  When he texted me he asked how the games were, and I said they were good but I couldn't find a hand to play.  By the time he showed up and was waiting for a seat, I showed him my stack and told him, "I finally found a hand to play."  He said, "I see that."  I added "But you won't like how I played it," I warned him.  "Probably not," was his reply.

I couldn't have had much less than my original $200 buy-in because of not playing anything.  Finally I got pocket 10's in early position and I limped in.  Don and I had discussed that hand just the night before.  Of course I should raise with it and he was reminding me of that very fact.  I explained that whenever I do, it seldom works out well for me.  So with the first pocket pair I'd had all night, I just limped in.  No one raised and five of us saw the flop.

And a fine flop it was.  Jack-Jack-10.  Always nice to flop a boat.  The lone woman at the table bet $10, a guy called, and I just called.  The others folded.  The turn card was a 9.  I checked, the lady bet $40, and the guy called.  When I checked, I was thinking I'd probably check-raise.  But when the guy called the $40, I started thinking I might get more money if just called and didn't chase anyone out.  So I just called.

I didn't like the river card, a Queen.  Players love to play Queen-Jack.  It struck me as plausible someone just hit a bigger boat than mine.  Hell, for all I knew, the lady had Jack-9 (another hand people love to play) and I was beaten on the turn. After my check, the lady bet $55 and the other guy called.  It struck me as very possible my hand was not the best.  I hated it, but I just called.

The lady turned over Jack-something.  The something wasn't matched with anything on the board.  The guy turned over pocket 8's.  At least that's what I think it was.  He only had it face up for a second. Maybe I missed something.  I mean, it's hard to believe he would have thought that was good against two other players. He couldn't have had a straight because he was obviously disappointed to see the lady's trips and he hadn't seen my hand yet. Whatever, my boat was good and it was a nice pot, but I know I cost myself some value there.

Not much happened after that either.  I had 5-3 in the big blind and no one raised.  The flop was 6-3-2 and no one bet.  The turn was a 5 but now I had to worry about a low straight.  I checked and called a bet of $10 from the aggro Euro at the table.  The river was an 9.  There was no flush possible and I checked.  This time the Euro put out $30. I just had a gut instinct that he was full of crap.  I shrugged and called.  All he had was a deuce for bottom pair.

And that was all that was worth reporting on.  I was able to cash out with a $110 profit.  During the game I had a good seat for the parade of scantily clad females attending the nightclub, and I was able to explore said parade more fully after I cashed out.  But I have to say, it was a disappointing show. For some reason there wasn't a big crowd for the club that night. But the extra money in my wallet was most welcome.