One Day On Vacation

Mrs_Blood gave the go-ahead on one day of poker-ing during our stay down here in Northern Florida. The card rooms in the area had just expanded their options and betting limits, even including a no-limit offering with $100 max buy-ins. With the blinds at these tables being $2/$2, I knew it would be somewhat of a crapshoot. Little did I know it'd be a crap-fest.

Mrs_Blood was having a stupendous day. She had been offered a job she had been after, one that is a bit of a promotion for her as a teacher of little rugrats. She had interviewed a while ago and got an unexpected phone call in the morning informing her of the news. To say she was excited was an understatement.

Later on in the afternoon, her good fortune continued as she was searching for shark's teeth on the beach we were staying on. She found a second one to go with the one she found earlier. Even the small things make her get excited, as anyone who's met her knows.

I figured that with her luck, she'd clean up at the poker tables. I gave her $100 and sat her at a $2/$4 limit table while I took my chances at the no-limit tables.

What a freaking disaster.

For me.

My first hand of joy saw me check-raise all in on an AQT flop holding top two. My big-stacked opponent was just trying to double me up by calling with QJ. I figured I was sweating a King. Silly me. Try runner-runner Jacks. That stung, especially considering the runner-runner debacle I suffered at the Depot a couple of weeks ago that I still won't blog about because it was so absurd.

Undeterred, I rebought. Meanwhile, Mrs_Blood mouths to me from a table across the room that she's up $50. Just like I thought. It is her day after all.

The second river suckout wasn't as bad. Again, with stacks so small in relation to flop pot sizes, I check-raised all-in again with top pair, decent kicker. A flush draw with no overcards called and hit on the river.

Slightly deterred, I rebought.

My third buy-in whittled down slowly and when I saw a cheap flop of 973 with 56 of spades, I went with it. Sadly, I got called by a set of 9's (can't people fold??!?!??!?!) and missed. Sure, get money in bad and miss? At this table?

"OK," I said to myself. "Last try." Twenty more red chips came my way. Mrs_Blood was getting hungry, not having eaten in a while, but slightly satiated by her $100 in profit. "Just a little bit longer?" She agreed. She's a keeper.

I called a raise in position with 96d, not necessarily strong poker, but the guy who raised was just giving money away. He was so horrifically bad, I can easily say that he was the worst player I've ever played against in a long time.

When the flop came 922, he pushed. Folded to me, I read him for crap and called. Everyone else folded and he flipped up T4o. He was proud. "I just need a ten," he said.

Turn 4.

River 10.

I was now officially on tilt. Just as I raised my beer to my mouth to take a sip, a young Asian kid who had been seated to my right got up to change seats at the table. He collided with my elbow, forcing me to spill my beer.

All over myself.

The table continued to laugh. That's right, I said "continued." You see, they had been laughing at the horrendous play and suckout of the previous hand.

As the beer soaked through my shirt and shorts, I wondered to myself who I would have to kill to make me feel better. Sadly, well maybe not, the young kid apologized profusely, so I couldn't kill him. The dealer? No. The shuffle machines buried in the table were to blame at this point. The asswipe across from me who was giving chips away? No. I still had a half of a buy-in.

Without anyone to maim or kill, I inadvertently limped UTG with my hand thinking I was the big blind. Someone in middle position raised to $12, asswipe called and I finally looked down at my two cards.

AJc. Fuck it. All-in.

The original raiser folded and as the laughter died down finally, asswipe said, "I'll give you your chips back," and called.

QJo. I didn't stand a chance.

The flop was all hearts. Turn was a black King. River was a 4th heart and his Queen of hearts took down the pot. More laughter.

Finally, I left the table. I was beaten. I went over to Mrs_Blood's table and she was running the show. She was all too happy to cash out with her profit for the evening, getting congratulated by the rest of the table on some unexpected good play on her part. I was proud of her. It was her day, not mine. She was gracious enough to listen to me whine about my beats (just as did you oh fine reader) and still smile at the end of it all.

I'll always be glad to lose in poker if it means a member of my immediate family can have good fortune. If that's the trade off I make in life, then so be it. Really, how can I complain with the wife and the kids I've got greeting me at the door each day? It would be silly to take bad poker beats to heart.

Tomorrow is another day. And I'm still on vacation. Because everyone is happy, so am I.