Straight Flush

They don't come around very often, especially in Hold'em, but a Straight Flush is always a delight.

I was playing in a WSOP steps qualifier on Ultimatebet, and we were down to 3-handed. I had just lost the chip lead when I got a short-stack opponent all-in holding pocket-8's and he turned over Q-J. He spiked his J on the turn. It didn't really damage me, just dropped me below the 3rd player.

Ver next hand I got Qh-Jh on the button. The player I'd just lost to had popped 3xBB and the SB had folded. As it was the bubble (only top 2 qualify for next round) I felt I could push him off a marginal hand, so I put him all in, and he insta-called; turning up pocket-6's.

The flop was good - although I didn't hit the overcards gave me both straight and flush draws, even a gutshot straight-flush draw; and the miracle 9h landed on the turn.

I'm normally the person on the other end, all-in with a wired-pair against overcards and losing to that kind of hand.

Change of tack

In an effort to mix up my games and try and find some luck I decided to play some heads-up games on Pokerstars. I got off to a decent start and won two out of the first three games I played. Problem is, with a $5.25 buy-in you are only winning $4.75 for each game, so winning 2/3 yielded only a $4.25 profit; and winning two out of three is about all you can really hope for.

So, I decided to play some heads-up knock-out tournaments, starting with 4 players and having to win two games in a row, to win $20. Unfortunately, my luck deserted me and I lost four in a row; two in the first round and two in the final. So, in a short space of time, I've now dropped $21 and am down $16.75.

Abandoning that approach I decided to play in a couple of Double-or-Nothing SNG's and, after some real sweating at the bubble, cashed in both and scraped back $10.20, finishing the evening down just $6.55.

Earlier today I decided to spend my lunch break playing a tiny $1 SNG, which after 70 minutes I eventually won. Hmmm, over an hour for $3.30 in profit is not really a valuable use of time. But I played really loose aggressive in the early stages and although my chips yo-yo'd, I eventually hit some monsters and got callers, putting me in the chip lead right through to heads-up.

Flopped Quads

Quite early on in heads up I hit an amazing hand. I had pocket 7's in the BB and my opponent put in a standard 3xBB raise. I trebled this, happy to call any all-in (I had him covered, 2-1).
The flop came down 7-10-7, and I had flopped quads; dreamland. I am praying that my opponent has an over-pair, or has hit the 10 bigtime.
Naturally I just check, trying to induce a bet; it doesn't come. The turn was the 2h, putting a flush draw out there, and again I'm praying he has some of this. Again, I wait an eternity and just check; still no action from the opponent. The 9h makes the flush a real possibility, so I put out a small bet (about 1/4 of the pot) hoping it would look like a stopper bet and I am scared of the flush. Naturally, I am praying for a re-raise; no such luck, he just folds.

It's amazing how difficult it is to ever get any action with quads. I can understand when there is trips on the board, but with two sevens and a ten, followed by a nine on the river it's just typical that the other player has no draws. I've no idea what he raised and called with, but it must have been an under-pair, or something.

Getting back on track

I knew that the bad run I'd been having over the last couple of weeks couldn't last; and thank goodness things are starting to turn around.

To freshen up and refocus I started mixing up the games I was playing. 2-3 straight weeks of grinding in 5c-10c level cash games was wearing me out, so I switched to some SNG's and MTT's, with some reasonable success.

I won a 6-seater SNG, followed by a couple of 2nd's and 3rd's in 9-seater SNG's. That run of three cashes did a lot to raise my confidence and I entered a 180 player MTT (SNG). After almost 3 hours I made it though the bubble, sitting reasonably comfortably above the average, in 8th place.
The blinds were rapidly rising and I was going to have to make a move in order to guarantee a place at the final table and some of the serious cash. Unfortunately, I found myself in the BB with Kc-Jc and was able to get in reasonable cheaply. The flop came down K-T-6 and the only other player at the table pushes all-in. He had only min-raised before the flop, so I am suspicious that he's got the bullets, but it's as good a spot as any (and I have him just covered), so I make the call.

I'm kind-of delighted when he flips up A-Q, for a mere gutshot and an overcard. Incredibly, the turn is a J and, although I now have 2-pair, he's made his straight. Only another K or J on the river is going to save me, and it doesn't come. It was a sick beat; I know I was behind pre-flop, but to out-draw the player only for him to push his luck with a draw was insane - I suppose he was of the same opinion as me and had to double up to have a chance of winning.

Anyway, I more than doubled my entry fee by making the cash and put that profit to good use by entering, and winning, another 9-seater SNG. I've also played 4 cash sessions this week and came out of each with a profit; I'm avoiding getting into situations with players who have bigger stacks and only taking on someone with less that 1/2 my stack. A bit timid, but it's reaping rewards and my confidence is slowly returning.

I hit a couple of cracking hands today; the first was a flopped Full-House (I had pocket 10's and the flop came down T-9-9). Luckily, three other players were interested and I managed to get them all to push in the rest of their (albeit miniscule) stacks by the turn.

Then, later in the day, I was playing in a WSOP qualifier Steps SNG and, early on, woke up with As-Qs and found a loose caller to my 5xBB raise. The flop comes down Q-Q-T; I check and my opponent puts in a huge bet (way over the pot, so I'm convinced he doesn't have Q-T). I push all-in and he calls, flipping up 8c-9c for a ludicrous gutshot. It was all over on the turn, as the case Q appeared completing my quads.


I'm feeling a bit happier with my game now, and have more confidence with big hands that miss the flop. The check-raise is something I am trying to introduce into my game; I just have to perfect the spots I pick to use it.

Starting Hold 'em Poker Hand Nicknames

I've long been interested in the nicknames that have been given to the starting hands in Hold 'em poker.

A lot of these nicknames are well established an go way back into poker history, such as A8 "Dead Man's Hand" - Wild Bill Hickok was shot from behind while holding this hand.

Given poker's recent meteoric rise in popularity and it's extensive television coverage new nicknames have been given to both well established hands as well as some more obscure ones. One that will probably come and go relatively quickly is AK; normally referred to as Big Slick, this has also been coined "Anna Kournikova" - looks great, but rarely wins.

There are 91 possible combinations of starting hands (not taking into account suited/unsuited) and, apart from the 'wired' or paired hands, quite a few of them have interesting nicknames. Some are regional and will only make sense if you are from the States (or are familiar with their culture); below are some of my favourites.

AA: Pocket Rockets; Bullets; American Airlines.
AK: Big Slick; Anna Kournikova (Looks great, but rarely wins).
AQ: Little Slick; Big Chick.
AJ: Black Jack; Jackass; Ajax.
AT: A-Team.
A8: Dead Man's Hand.
A3: Friday 13th.
A2: AC-DC (as in Acey-Ducey).

KK: Cowboys; King Kong; Ace Magnets (always an Ace on the flop).
KQ: Marriage; Royalty.
KJ: Kojak; Bachelor (Jack-King off).
K9: Canine; Fido; Mongrel (offsuit).
K3: King Crab.

QQ: Ladies; Cowgirls.
QJ: Maverick.
QT: Hot Babe; Q-Tip.
Q9: Quinine.
Q7: Computer Hand (calculated to be the average starting hand).
Q3: Gay Waiter (Queen with a tray).

JJ: Hooks; Jokers.
JT: Cloutier (as in T.J. Cloutier)
J8: Dahmer (Jeffrey Dahmer, serial killer, who "Ate Jack").
J7: Jack Daniels (old No. 7).
J5: Jackson Five; Motown.
J4: Flat Tyre (What's a Jack for?).

TT: Dimes; TNT; Binary (1010).
T9: Countdown
T5: Five and Dime.
T7: Split (as in 10-pin bowling)
T4: Good Buddy; Roger, Over and Out.
T2: Texas Dolly (Doyle Brunson won two consecutive WSOP main events with this hand).

99: German Virgin; Hellmuth (winning hand in WSOP main event 1989); Wayne Gretsky.
96: Bick Lick; Prom Night (Sixty-Nine Suited).
95: Dolly Parton (after the song); Day Job.
94: Gold Rush; San Fransisco (as in 49'ers).

88: Snowmen; Double Infinity.
86: Maxwell Smart (Agent 86).
84: Big Brother.
83: Raquel Welch.

77: Walking Sticks; Hockey Sticks.
76: Trombones; Philadelphia.
75: Heinz (57 varieties).
74: Double Down (blackjack).
73: Hachem (Joe Hachem flopped a straight with this hand to win the WSOP 2005).
72: The Hammer; Velvet Hammer (suited); WHIP (Worst Hand In Poker)

66: Route 66.

55: Nickels; Speed Limit; ;
54: Colt 45; Moneymaker (Chris Moneymaker won 2003 WSOP main event with this hand).
52: Bomber (B-52); Pickup (as in 52 card pickup).

44: Sailboats; Magnum; Skywalker (May the 4's be with you);
44: Vader (Club & Spade - the dark side of the 4's).
42: Jack Bauer (as in 24)

33: Crabs.

22: Ducks.

It's by no means a comprehensive list and there's probably some more that I am unaware of. Feel free to comment with any new or alternatives.

This is getting beyond a joke

What the hell do I have to do to win a hand.

This week has just gone from bad to worse, to even worse. I sat down tonight and bought in for $16, leaving my bankroll at a decimated $40 (started the week with $115).

After about an hour of just going through the motions, I find myself in middle position with 10c-Jc, a reasonably good drawing hand, so I limp in hoping to see a cheap flop.

Following the flop, of 5h-2c-6c, I've picked up the flush draw and am feeling reasonably confident. One player bets out 1/2 the pot, and I make the call. It's a call that says "I'm on a draw", and after the Jd comes down I've now got top pair, and the flush draw. My opponent bets the size of the pot and I just call. The idea was to make him think I'd still missed and was chasing the draw. The river comes down 2h, so no straight or other flush draws out there.

My opponent has got $5 left and, pushes it all in. It's a strong move from a player who spiked a pair on the flop and was convinced I'd missed the draw. I make the call, only to find I'm up against 2d-7c, and have been out-drawn AGAIN on the river. This is starting to become ridiculous; after staying with an equal stack for about an hour, I've done over $10 in one hand.


Has my luck eventually changed?

After grinding away for another hour or so, and buying in for another $10 to make sure I have enough to make a profit if I hit the nuts, I catch the bullets; Ac-Ad, on the button.
There's one pot-sized raise (from a short-stack player), and, incredibly, 3 callers. Amazingly, I almost contemplated folding these, as I didn't think I could take another bad-beat. But, I decided to man-up and push all-in, hoping the short-stack playing A-K, or something similar.

He calls instantly, for his last $3.50, and the other two players think for an eternity, then both fold. I got what I wanted, I'm heads-up.

My opponent turns over Kd-Qd, and he's in better shape than I thought, but still a massive dog. What I don't want to see is any Diamonds on the board. What a nightmare, flop comes down 2d-4d-7d; yet another all suited board, and it hits my opponent big time. I feel like crying, just how many bad beats can a man take!!!

My only out is to hit another Diamond. The 8c on the turn means nothing, but my luck eventually took a massive upturn when the 6d hits the river and my Ad makes me a better flush.


That hand has been anout my only highlight of the week. After hitting this I'm still nearly $7.50 down on the day and a massive $64 down on the week. I started with a $50 bankroll at Ultimatebet about 8 weeks ago, and had been grinding and grinding over 6 weeks to get this up to $115, only for that to disappear in the last two weeks, with a small $6.50 loss last week and the massive loss this week. I'm starting next week with $48.85 and am going to have to drop down to the smallest level and try to grind this back up again.

Here's hoping my bullets holding up will be the turning point.

When will the madness end?

On the back of yesterday's nightmare, I sat down tonight and tried to play with a positive attitude; not believing that every hand I play I'm behind.

I tread water for about an hour, and am only down about $0.60, when I am dealt Kh-9c. I'm in early position, so I limp in and there are no pot raisers.

Flop comes down 9d-Ks-Jh (nice rainbow flop, so I am not too worried about the flush). I've flopped 2-pair, so I lead out with a pot-sized bet and it is called in two places.

6h on the turn puts the flush out there, so I bet the pot again, and one player folds, the other calls. Another 6 (s) on the river means no flush. As my opponent has only been calling, I put him on A-K or A-J, or possibly A-Q, drawing to the straight. He only has $2.10 left, so I put him all in.

Inevitably, he calls with the Qs-10d, for a flopped straight. It's the kind of hand I have lost with a couple of times recently when players have caught me up, this time it holds up for my opponent. I've done just over $5, a quarter of my stack.

It's the first real hand I've been involved in, and again no matter how strong my hand is, there's at least one caller with a better one. It's enough to drive you insane.


I'd had enough of my bad luck and decided to move down a level, to the $0.01/$0.02, to try and get a bit of confidence back. There's a couple of loose players at the table giving each other a bit of banter and raising every pot.

I pick up Ah-Qh and make a 4xBB raise, which one of them calls. The flop comes down 2c-Qc-9h and the other player pushes all-in for $1.53. I have no option but to call. What does he turn over,
2s-9d, for two-pair. Looks like I brought my bad luck with me. This run better end soon.

The worst poker night of my life

Just take a look at the list of bad beats I've taken tonight - seriously, these all happened in one session!

Early on I picked up a couple of hands, made a couple of raises and picked up a couple of pots. After buying in for $18.91, I was up about $2.50. Oh boy, should I have just quit then.

The first bad beat came in a hand where I picked up A-2 suited in the BB and was able to limp in. I spiked 2-pair on the flop and put out a pot sized bet. Everyone folded except one player who pushed all his remaining $7.00. I was convinced he had A-K, so I called. It was much better than that, he had staked his remaining stack on a flush draw and 2nd pair.

Inevitably, the third heart came on the turn and I went form $2.50 up to $5.00 down.

It just got worse and worse from there.

I ploughed on for about an hour and every big pre-flop hand I had was caught on the flop, turn or river. Nothing major, just a series of beat after beat.

I picked up Ks-9s in middle position and limped in. There was no raise after me, and the flop came down 10h-Jh-Qc; I've flopped a straight!

I'm not slow playing this one; been caught too many times before, so I bet the pot.
Surprisingly, I get two callers. The turn comes down 8c. There's now two flush draws out there, but I am not majorly concerned about the club draw, as there was only one club on the flop, and I'm beating anyone with a 9.

I put in another pot sized bet and the player behind me pushes all-in, followed by the third player. I make the call and am happy not to see A-K. In fact, neither has an Ace, so I'm not worried about the King either.

However, it couldn't have been much worse. The player behind me has made a lesser straight, but has the club flush draw that I wasn't worried about. The other player has 2-pair, so any Q or J fills his house. Now, I have to avoid a J, Q, or any club.

Inevitably, the river is the Kc, and I've been caught again. That pot cost me about $10. That's the second time in a week I've flopped a straight and been caught on the river.



About 10 hands later I catch pocket 7's. I double the BB and get one caller.
For the first time tonight, I spike a set, on a 9d-5d-7h flop.

The two diamonds are scare cards, so I bet the size of the pot, and immediately get called. The turn brings the 6h, so now there is a potential made straight (with an 8), and now two flush draws.

I bet half the pot, and my opponent just calls. So I still put him on the flush draw (so many players on UB limp in with suited connectors, as it's probably the best way to get paid).

The Ah comes on the river, and I capitulate; just checking. Obviously my opponent was a bit scared of the flush as well and only checks behind me.

Inevitably, he turns over 8c-9s, for the straight. I got away reasonably lightly there, but still cost me about $5.



Things just keep getting worse, and every hand I play gets out-drawn. Any AK, AQ, JJ, 10-10, gets overtaken at some point, and my stack keeps trickling away. By this time I've bought in for another $10, to keep my stack topped up, as it was down to about $4.00

About 20 hands later I catch Ad-Kc in middle position and put in a 3xBB raise. The player behind calls and it goes around to the BB, who pushes his last $1.75 in. I decide I want to isolate, so I treble the bet, believieng the player behind me will fold. No such luck.

He makes the call, and now I'm in for a lot more than I wanted to be, with the biggest bogey hand on Ultimatebet. The flop comes down Qh-6c-5h. I know I should have pushed, but was worried about busting out to the player behind me. So I check, and he checks behind me.
I'ts checked down to the river with a 7h followed by the Jh. Only for my opponent to turn up 5c-4s and win the pot with a pair of 5's. What on earth possesed him to call my massive pre-flop raise with that hand; it's just insane.

I had the original All-In guy well covered, but lost the pot to a complete idiot. It was just another example of how bad A-K runs in this room.


If you thought that was a bad beat for A-K, it was nothing compared to the next one. I'm in the SB with A-K again, and double the BB. I get only one caller, and the flop comes down 2d-4s-Ac. Pretty good looking flop, so I bet out; It gets insta-called.
The turn looks even prettier, as I spike the Ks. There's now a spade flush draw out there, so I put my opponent all-in, for his last $3, or so.

He calls (of course) and turns up 5h-3h. He'd flopped the straight - insane. The one and only caller to my pre-flop raise flops a freakin' straight. I now need another A or K on the river, and it doesn't come.

Seriously, at this stage I'm about ready to throw the freakin' laptop against the wall. It's just inconceivable that I can keep running into these hands.

The very next hand I pick up A-K again. I'm still fuming from losing the last two A-K's (in a very short space of time), and I put in a pot-sized bet. Again, I get one caller.
The flop comes down 2c-6s-Ah. Again, I've spiked an A and I bet out, only to get re-raised by the caller. Seriously, I'm now putting him on A-2 or A-6. We've got about equal stacks (I have him just about covered, with my last $6.50. So I put him all-in, and of course, he calls.

I'm actually delighted to see 5h-4h, as he'd need runner-runner hearts for the flush. But he does have a gut-shot straight draw. The turn is the 8s, so no flush possible. But I'm expecting the inevitable 3 on the river. Amazingly, it doesn't come and eventually one of my AK has held up, and even better, I managed to double up.


As I write this I've just lost another pot with A-K, to a player with A-Q, who spiked 2-pair.
I am currently down over $30 in tonight's session alone. That's all my profit from last month gone. It's easily the worst session I've ever experienced.

Update:
10 minutes after finishing this post, I'm still at the table with about $10. I pick up pocket Q's and put in a pot-sized raise. The player behind me pushes this up to $1 and it is called in two spots. It comes back to me and I've had enough, I push in the last of my cash.

The original raised decides to get out, but the other two players make the call. I've now got a chance to treble up. No such luck.

I'm up against A-Q and A-K. And isn't is typical that there's a K on the flop. Another on the turn all but ends it. Only the case Q on the river can save me, and there is no miracle. After doing most of my money tonight playing A-K, it is the same hand, held by an opponent that finishes me off.

The final count is a loss of $38.91. Not quite the worst night I've ever had cash-wise, but definitely luck wise. I know all professional poker players say you have to be able to weather the bad spells, but tonight was a nightmare I do not ever want to repeat.