WSOP, bad beats, great hands

Crazy hand from last night. It's down to five players at the final table, the blinds are 150/300. The big stack (probably 8000-9000 chips) to the left of the BB starts things off by making it 600 to go. I am next and move all in (2000 chips) with AKs. The other big stack (probably 7000 or so) to my left is on the button and calls the 2000. The SB reraises all-in and pushes his 2350 in the pot. The BB, who was originally in for 300, wisely gets out of the way and folds. The action is back on the original raiser, he thinks for a second and reraises all in. I'm already all-in, and the button agonizes over his decision for several minutes before folding his cards face up (everyone else is already all-in).

The three remaining shorter stacks each turn over AKs (including the button who folded face up). The big stack turns over 77, and it takes us a second after we stop laughing to realize that he is a 95% favorite to win, because we each have what the other needs.

Flop comes three blanks, but the turn and river expose the last king and last ace to give me and the SB a split. The button is furious for folding his AKs, and 77 is beside himself as well. Not often that three guys in a row have AKs and hit both of their remaining outs to pull the hand out of the fire.

i had forgotten all about this thread:

a few months ago, i was heads-up in the pacific poker 250k guaranteed (just before they closed their site to americans)... $52,500 to the winner and $26,500 to 2nd, so we're basically playing heads-up for $26,000... we're about even in chips and he's first to act:

he min-raises and i call with QTs (trivially easy call heads-up)... flop comes Txx and i check-raise all-in (blinds are enormous, so another easy decision)... he turns over KK... turn is a blank and i'm drawing to five outs on the river... a beautiful T on the river, a $26,000 suckout...

i'll never complain about a bad beat again...

Here's a great story: I was in Vegas sometime ago playing 2-5 NL hold 'em at the Mirage. This guy sat down, having come from the blackjack tables, and he dumped about $5000 in chips on the table. The floorman, who knew him by name (making me believe he was a high-roller in the casino) explained to the man, Mr. Fu, that it was a maximum $500 buy-in table. He didn't speak much English, but was able to blurt out, "I've never played this game." Well, the first hand gets dealt and he is trying to bet, but doesn't know how to do it and is acting confused. The pot had been raised to $50 pre flop. Finally he just throws out $200. Another player calls, and I'm in late position, and can't pass up the pot odds with AQ suited. The original raiser to $50 called as well. Well, the flop comes A-Q-2 -- and this guy pushes all-in. I think for a second, but can't pass it up. Both other players folded. Mr. Fu had K-J -- just a gut shot straight draw -- and missed. All told it was about a $1500 pot, netting me almost $1000 in one hand. It was the wildest table I've ever been at and Mr. Fu lost just about all of his $5000 in chips. I won $1700 of them.

This weekend at the casino, I was playing $2-$5 no limit Texas Hold'em. I look down at KK in middle position, with two limpers so far. I raise it $20. Folded around to the big blind who goes all-in for another $70. Folded again around to me, and of course I call. Neither of us show our cards.

The dealer burns the top card and pulls three cards off the deck, all face down and stacks them on top of each other. Flips over the pile to expose a king. There are 4 cards to come, and I am looking good. He than slides the three cards out, exposing a Q and 5 along with the king. 4th street brings an A, and the river is a Q. I confidently flip over my kings for kings full of queens, and my opponent flips over QQ for quad queens. Ouch.

Played in a $50 buy in, 40 person tournament this past weekend (winner getting around $600) with some friends of mine from college.

There are 4 tables of 10 with the final 2 at each table going to final table(don't really like that set up, but hey). I'm sitting comfortably in chips at my table with 4 other players who I can read with a blind fold on. Its painfully obvious they don't really know what there doing.

I get dealt 3 4 spades in the big blind, calls all around and I check the option.

Flop : 4h 8s 9s

I've got a pair of 4's and spade draw. I lead out with a small bet, one player calls, and the 2 others fold.

4rth Street: 4d

Now i've got trip 4s and a spade draw. I put him on a straight draw due to his eyes flying back and fourth all over the community cards. I lead out with all in.

After a good 5 minutes of thinking, he calls me with his j T off suit. He needs a non-spade 7 or queen to hit...calls me with the straight draw... of course the 7 of hearts hits the river and i'm out of the tournament as we had an equal stack...

I was calling these guy's hands all f'ing night, and each time I would get it right, they'd show me... so I had the table down cold... just got a bad beat...

This is one I witnessed at the casino. I might have the details off a bit, but basically this is what happened. Preflop raise (AA) from early position, followed by a re-raise from late position (KK). The AA re-raises, and the KK just calls. There is now about $300 in the pot, and the players still have about $700 each in front of them. Flop is K-K-7. The AA comes out with a sizeable bet, and the K-K calls. Turn brings an A. Aces comes with another sizeable bet, KK goes all in, and AA calls. Just a monster pot, and what hits on the river, but another A. The KK flops quads, and loses to runner-runner AA to lose to quad aces. And unfortunately for the KK, this was before the casino had a bad beat jackpot.

I was playing limit hold 'em at Belagio...and this is the story from the guy playing next to me.

In the '04 WSOP Main Event, this guy was in the top 15% of chip leaders with about 15 players to go before the money cutoff. He had won his way into the main event via a satellite, meaning getting into the money would have been a nice payout for him.

With 10 people to go before the money cutoff, his strategy was to just play conservative, unless he hit a monster. He looks down at JJ in early position, and raises (a raise that would put all but 1 player at the table all in). Everyone folds around to the button, who re-raises the minimum. The button was the only guy at the table with a sizeable amount of chips, about equal to the guy telling me this story. The guy with JJ thinks about, and decides to call the raise, and just dump the hand if the board is at all unfavorable or the other guy shows any aggression.

The flop comes J-4-4. The guy with JJ decides to come out with a pot sized bet. The button moves all-in. Of course, the JJ guy calls, and the guy on the button says, “I’m pretty sure you’ve got me” and flips over A-2. And what comes next, considering the unlikeliness and timing of it, is unbelievable. 4th street and river are runner-runner 4’s. The ace plays and the guy with JJ is now out of the WSOP.

He said had he won that hand, he would have been among up the top 5 in chips. Considering the situation and what happened, that is the worst bad beat story I’ve ever heard. You could tell two years later, he still had a hard time telling the story without getting worked up. He said for a month after he couldn’t look at a deck of cards with feeling like puking.

And to top it off when he told his wife what happened, her comment was, “I thought you were just going to play conservative to get into the money?”

Considering the event and spot, that is one of the worst beats I have ever heard of.

Here is a link to a good video. All the hands are from online game play and loaded into the software that the player, mindwise and a few others run to teach poker. I have no affiliation with them, just go to PocketFives to read about poker.

http://www.pocketfives.com/8163A621-0C7F-462D-A5C9-F2C9E6F1512B.aspx

malmo wrote:

World Series of Poker has started. Lets's hear about your skills, your bad beats, your great hands?

I've had FIVE, count 'em, five Royal Flushes in my career. Beat that....

FINALLY got my first Royal Flush tonight, in diamonds.

Another bad beat story. I had already won the tourney for the night and was playng in the cash game, where I tend to do very well. I was up several hundred when I get dealt 8 8. I put in a decent raise and a few people stay with me. Flop comes A 8 2. One guy goes all in for most of my chips and I call (the others fold). We flip over, he's got A J. At this point I was 98.5% to win. Of course, the turn is an A, giving him trips and me a full house, and the river is the J, giving him a better full house. That runner-runner BS put me underwater for the night.

Rumor has it that Wejo is in the money at the main event. However, I can't find any evidence to this; I've checked the chip count and I don't see Wejo anywhere. Can anyone substantiate the rumor with a link?

Malmo, why don't you play the Main Event... I'm sure you'd have a solid chance at winning a satellite seat.

look at 369th place

What would you have done? Cash game the other night in which a small pot tends to be $50-100 and a large one is $250 and up.

I get KK in early position and make it $15 to go. Three other guys stay in to see the flop, which comes 7 8 10 rainbow. I make it $20 more to run off the straight draws, but one guy raises it $25 more and the other two fold. I don't put him on J 9 (or two pair) because he would have folded before the flop with my raise. The turn is a Q, and I bet $25 more. He raises $100 to make it $125 to go. I'm worried about AA or 10 10 at this point, and after a long time I make the call.

The river is a J. I put him all in for $65 and he calls. He flips over 9 9 for a straight and I am beaten. The thing that got to me was that he invested $195 on a pair of 9s with a draw. I asked him later what he was thinking and he said he was chasing and got lucky.

I'm interested to hear how others would have played this. I still won money overall the other night, but it would have been a lot more with this pot. If it helps I had $400 or so on the table at the start of the hand.

you were 80/20 to win preflop.

you were roughly 60/38 to win after the flop.

you were 77/23 to win after the turn.

you were a dead duck after the river, but with $195 already in before the jack hit, I can see betting the remaining $65 to represent the straight yourself.

He had 10 outs and hit one of them. I fold KK frequently when the cards on the board and other people's bets tell me I'm beaten, but if this guy has a history of bluffing, it's not so easy.

If you make good decisions, you will make money in the long run. If I had a dime for every time someone sucked out on me, I'd be twice as rich as I am. It happens.

pot odds say your river bet made mathematical sense, but possibly not your bet after the turn. I'm guessing that there was well over $500 in the pot by the end. The key bet for you was calling the $100 raise after the turn. You were ahead at that point and he bluffed and later caught his card, so that sucks for you. If you had to play it again, possible fold after he raised, you would have lost only $85 instead of $250+. But at that point, you had him 3 to 1, and it's tough to fold with that much money and odds as good as those.

You probably played it right. Maybe you should have pushed harder after the turn card and bet $50 or more to scare him off. $25 wasn't enough, and he raised $100 to try and steal it.

If it makes you feel better, I got knocked out of a tournament recently, my full house lost to quad aces.

Ironic that this thread came up today, just saw that Chip Reese died in his sleep last night.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. That hand bothered me for the rest of the night, because I couldn't figure out if I had a bad read on him, or bet poorly, or just got unlucky. There was at least $160-170 in the pot before the turn card, and since I bet first I should have bet $75 instead of $25 to take it down right there. The $25 bet showed weakness and he made a power play with the $100 raise, and then just got lucky from there.

You bet $20 into a $45 pot. That's giving the next guy about about 3:1, which is probably enough for anyone with a 9 to call (especially since "any 9" is probably 89, 99, or 10 9, in which case they have 10 or 13 outs against an overpair, which they likely put you on).

Hard to say if he is bluffing here. He could easily be reading your small bet (you bet $25 into a $145 pot ??) as weak and is trying to push you off AK/AQ. He could just as easily have a set here. Bet about half the pot here, or just shove, if you think your hand is good. Otherwise, check/fold.

You bet into him twice after he raised you, which is kind of bizarre. What did you think he had? To me he played it like a set, unless he is a maniac, in which case he played it like he had a 9.