Happy Solstice!!! ...or... Epic Fail

Very little poker happenings for the last 6 days, especially online for I took a trip back to my home of Salt Lake City for the pre-holidays. Living in Las Vegas has definitely spoiled me weatherwise. I'm with the elderly
- stay in the warm place for the winter and go to the cold place during the summertime.

This trip is one that allowed me to play one of the most interesting and educational hands of poker I've ever played. It also left me with little more than change in my pocket.

So I get to the Greyhound bus station, pick up my bus ticket from will-call, and I realize that the bus leaves at 7:50 AM rather than 7:10 AM like I mistakenly remembered. Finding myself with a couple of hours to kill, I head on over to Fremont street in beautiful downtown Las Vegas to see what's happening in the new poker room at Binion's. There I see a 5 handed game of $1/$2 no limit hold'em being played by some middle-aged to slightly elderly patrons. Now, I know my game usually plays well against the slightly elderly, and I'm an even match for the middle-aged, so I decide to sit down to see some flops. I ask the dealer what the minimum buy-in is for the game, and he tells me $100. I have $107. What the hell.

I play for about 45 minutes, play pretty tightly except on the button, drag a few small pots and lose a few, but maintain about an even stack. All the while I'm commenting to the other players that my loss limit is $50, and as soon as I reach that threshold, I'll have to get up. It was a fun, friendly table with only one of my opponents having shown any real skill at the game, so I was comfortable passing the time in this way.

The hold'em hand in question came about an hour into the session, I have A5 of clubs on the button. At this point, we're four handed at the table, and no one is making moves at pots. Most pots are not raised pre-flop and given up to a bet on the flop, or checked down to showdown. I'm considering moving on the blinds here, but the lady to my right limps for $2, so I decide to limp along with her and see a flop.

The flop comes 565 rainbow, giving me trips with the best kicker, which I like, but understand is vulnerable to a very likely straight draw on this short handed table. The big and small blinds check, and the lady to my right min bets $2 into an $8 pot. I would interpret this as a blocking bet looking for cheap cards to come, but the lady hasn't shown any particular aptitude or understanding of the game thus far, so then it looked suspicious, as I had seen her drop red birds on the flop in the past. The way she dropped her chips also suggested she wasn't on a draw; it seemed like she couldn't wait to drop them, and when she did, her hand immediately returned to her lap. At this point, I'm quite certain she has the fourth five in her hand, and I'm a little afraid of pocket sixes. I raise her bet of $2 to $10, the small and big blinds fold.

She re-raises to $20 in the same manner she put out her original $2 bet.

I go into the tank. I'm afraid of her having 66 for the full house, but I just don't feel it. She would have raised it. She had done it before with 44 on the button about 10 hands prior. She has the case 5, but I have the best kicker. I decide to use my words and my stack to take the pot down immediately.

I say, "You have the 56 of spades and I'm going to need to catch an ace to win. I'm all in..."

I think I'm giving her a chance not to lose by telling her I have trips with the best kicker, and I don't want her to catch a jack or a queen for her boat on the turn or the river, which I assume is likely her kicker. She insta-calls the all-in bet and turns over what? THE 56 OF SPADES!!!!

Immediately, the peanut gallery interjects the obligatory utterances. Not words, just sounds. I say nothing, playing it off like I knew it all along, hoping I catch the ace on the turn or the river and look like a hero. I feel like a donkey. The remaining moderately elderly player offers me a sideways glance, as I had called his pocket kings and ace king correctly in previous hands. He obviously thought I was that good, and hadn't considered the possibility that he was just that predictable.

I did not catch my ace, and I lost my Benjamin, but I amassed many cool points this day. Tragically, those cool points are worthless, as I will never play against these opponents again. I throw on my U.S. Army GI rucksack with the last of my worldly possessions and make my way down main street for a 9 hour bus ride of reflection and self-debasement. Good times.