How did I get lucky? Well, I was playing a 5/10 live game (No Limit Texas Hold’em), when the game started to die. My $1000 starting stack grew to about $7000, and we ended up 3-handed. Two guys both had about $3k, when I picked up KK UTG. I raised it, and saw a re-raise and another re-raise ahead of me. I kind of knew one of them had Aces, thought about it, but decided to push none the less. I can’t fold KK pre-flop in a cash game. I just can’t. To my surprise, both players called and when the cards were flipped over, I kind of got it. Both players had pocket Aces.

The flop came J4T, not looking good. The turn was way better, an off-suit Q, giving me a straight draw, giving me an extra two outs (now I didn’t want a King, I wanted a 9).

Well, you guessed it. I hit the nine on the river, scooping the $9k+ pot.

Sick beat, but hey, I can’t fold KK pre-flop in a cash game.

I’m investing part of that money into a try-out-buy-in for the EPT, and hope to do as good as Belgian semi-pro Jonathan Abdellatif, who cashed in his first EPT (this year’s Deauville). Fingers crossed!

We even ran it twice (two full boards) the second time (I think he felt bad for me hehe), but no suckout on the ten-shotter either…

I’m quite pleased to end in the positive numbers, but do feel kind of sick from being on the wrong end of these cold deck situations twice in such a short time….

Oh well

At one point, a pot comes to a showdown, about €1200 in the pot. First player doesn’t show his pair of eights, but announces it. The other guy showed a king to make his pair of kings – and throws the other card in the center of the table. It’s turned face down. All of a sudden, player one turns over his eight, and declares the pot his: “he can’t muck half his hand, once he does that, the pot is mine!”.

The whole table was like: “you’re joking, right?”. But – he wasn’t. Casino manager came in – decided player one was right. Dude took the pot – the other guy lost about 500 in the hand.
I mean – wtf? Is that poker etiquette in most casinos? :s

Second hand of the night — everyone has their initial buy-in of about $1000 in front of them, and I pick up a couple of aces on the button. I have a raise in front of me, and one caller (under the gun raised 3BB — call middle position) — so I decided to re-raise about 8BB. The initial raiser made an instafold — middle position re-raised me the minimum. The pot was about $250 at that point, so I decided to go for the pot with the rest of my chips.

When the other side of the table started doubting — i put him on a middle pair — nines, tens — a hand I would probably fold if I were him — but playable none the less…

After about two minutes, the guy says: “nah, you don’t have it” — and he calls. I instashow my aces, and he says: “well, I”m on the draw” — and show me Q9 O/S.

Flop comes — A93 rainbow. Great — i’m well-ahead now. The turn makes my full house — another nine. My opponent is dead to the case nine. The river brings… A FRIGGING 9.

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME. Opponent starts making noise and yells about how great he is — he just KNEW it… Awesome, dude! Anyway — I don’t mind aces being cracked — I do when it’s by a freaking one-outer on the river…

Oh well….