Post-Work Poker and an Early Knockout

Since Kevin was in town again, we all gathered for another round of Texas Holdem (and to determine whether he would continue to be the holder of The Lord and Master Stein).

This time around, there were less people… and so we didn’t have to split into two groups. This made things a bit slower, as it took a while for the action to move around the table.

Shot of Chris and Mike. Mostly, I took this because I wanted to capture Chris’ ice-filled drink. :)

Sadly, I was among the first people knocked out. Here’s the hand I lost, with Jeff across the table and AJ to my right. Let me recap it for you:

The flop is 4 of Clubs, Ace of Clubs and 3 of Hearts. I have Queen and 7 suited, and feel like I’ve got a good chance at a high Flush.

AJ bets a large 250, and scares nearly everyone else out. I decide to go Flush hunting, and call her bet. Jeff isn’t swayed by AJ’s bet, and raises to 500. AJ calls… and I call as well. Later on I found out that, like me, Jeff thought AJ had pocket aces at best.

On the Turn is the King of Spades. No help to me on the Flush. AJ checks, and we all check. Sweet, I’m thinking to myself: free look, and it didn’t cost me anything.

River card is an 8 of Clubs. I hit my Flush and feel pretty good about things. I’ve got a Queen in my hand, and the Ace is on the table… the only way I lose is if someone else has a Flush, and has the King in their hand.

AJ bets 500. I decide to move All-In. Jeff calls, and AJ quickly calls.

Turns out? WE ALL HAVE FLUSHES. Amazingly, we all hit our Flush on the final card. And because AJ has the King of Clubs in her hand, she had the nut Flush all along. Jeff and I both get knocked out in one fell swoop, and AJ triples up.

Like last time, I lost out to the one card in the deck that could have beat me. But honestly, given how things went with this hand… I think I played things pretty well. Maybe my decision to go hunting for the Flush wasn’t the smartest, but it felt like the right move. And in terms of betting and moving All-In… I feel good about the decisions I made. I’d like to think that anyone else with my hand, in my situation, would have played and bet the same way.

Ah well, I guess that’s why it’s called gambling, eh? It was sad that I could only play for a few hands, and less than an hour overall. But it was definitely fun while it lasted. Unfortunately, I have no idea who ended up winning.

Looking back, I’ve always had decent enough luck to where I’ve last until the end of the game, generally. So getting knocked out early was definitely weird. Last I heard, Chris had taken third place, but Eddie and Phil were still going head to head.