Bad Beats Montana-Style

I played poker for 5 nights in a row in Montana.  It was great fun.  I won some and lost some.  I’m definitely a semi-loose player.  I had some serious swings.  I lost some big hands and won some big hands.  All in all, it was crazy fun.

Unfortunately, the last night was demoralizing.

Everything was going fine.  I had picked up a bunch of pots and was generally running the table.  Then a new player, some skinny kid with a giant forehead, sat down.  You never know what to believe at the poker table, but this player claimed to “never play poker”.  He plopped down $40 on a $1/2 NLHE table and began to play.  He played semi-loose and passive.  He picked up a pot or two in his first 10 hands and built his stack up to about $70.  People were mostly giving his raises credit.

In middle position I got AA and bet out $6 and the new player raised me to $12.  I re-raised all-in for $140-ish and he called.  He turned over AK off suit…DOMINATION.  I love my hand.  The flop comes Q83 rainbow and I’m feeling even better.  The turn comes J and he begins to call for a ten…which he gets.

I feel tilty…I work hard to let it go and I think I’m doing well.  I avoid playing anything marginal for at least a couple of revolutions to settle down.  I reload another $60.

I get dealt JQ suited in late position and call Forehead Guy’s pre-flop $6 raise.  The flop comes jack-high double suited (not my suit) and Forehead Guy checks to me.  I bet out $10 into the $15 pot.  He calls.  The turn comes A.  Forehead checks and I bet out $20 into the $35 pot, Forehead calls.  The river comes Q giving me two pair and Forehead bets $40 putting me all-in for $40 more.  I am committed and call, even though I’m feeling pretty confident that he must have caught something.  He rolls over KT suited.  He flopped a four flush and chased it the whole way, backdooring a straight instead.

I reload again for another $80.  We have two more hands together, Forehead and me.  One I win for a small pot when pocket nines hold up against another drawing hand.  Then I get dealt pocket queens, the flop is jack-high and I bet the pot, the turn is an underpair to my queens and I bet and the river is an ace.  I bet out and Forehead raises me for the last $12 bucks or so I have left.  I know he’s got an ace, but I’ve got to call just in case he thinks his paired jack is good.  He does indeed have an ace rag.

I had slapped over $300 on the table throughout the night.  Luckily I had some wins against the other players at the table.  Unfortunately I gave Forehead Guy a lot of money.  I end the night down just over $100.  I feel like I played pretty well throughout the night.  I can’t think of a lot of hands that I think I played wrong.  Sometimes the deck just kicks your butt.  This was one of those nights.