Arrrggghhh!

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I’ve been playing in some tournaments at the Venetian and Orleans casinos. As usual, I’ve been stalked by bad beats. Here are just a few of them that either busted me out or reduced my stack so that I busted out soon afterwards.

I had pocket Qs. The flop was 2Q 10. I checked; the other player checked. The turn was J. I decided to shove to get the other player to fold and not see another card. He called with K 10. The river was A, giving him the “Broadway” straight to the A to beat me.

I had pocket Qs. I raised a lot pre-flop. One player called me. The flop was K9K. I bet and he called. I thought he might have a K but if he did, I figured he would probably raise instead of calling the bet. Also, with two kings on the board, it was less likely he had one in his hand. The turn was a 4. I bet and he called. The river was a 2. I bet. He raised to half my stack. I’d seen him do this several times before as a bluff. In fact, he did it once to me previously, and I called him to win a big pot. So I called him. He had pocket 4s for a full house on the turn.

I had A♠K♠. A player raised pre-flop. I reraised. He reraised me. I shoved. He called with A♣K♣. I don’t remember the cards, but I remember the suits. The flop was ♠♠♣. It looked pretty good for me to win or for us to split the pot. The turn was ♣. Hmmm… The river was ♣. He got the flush and took more than half my stack.

I entered a bounty tournament where you get real cash for each player you knock out. Players tend to be more aggressive in bounty tournaments, hoping to get that cash. I got pocket Ks. The blind (minimum bet) was $1000. A short stack, and an inexperienced player by her own admission, bet $5K. I decided to shove to discourage anyone else from calling. But if someone else did decide to call, I would be in good shape with the second best possible hand to start. Another player with a larger stack took a long time thinking. I knew I was ahead. If he had pocket As, he would have “snap called” (i.e., called instantly). He eventually called with AK. The short stack had pocket 7s. I was in good shape with about 50% chance to win. The board ran out 5689, giving the short stack a straight. So I would lose to the shorter stack, but it looked like I would win against the larger stack, which would be an overall increase in chips for me. Until the proverbial ace on the river showed up. I lost to both players.

I wish I knew when all of this bad luck will end and the universe will right itself again.

About the author

Bob Zeidman is a high-stakes recreational poker player. He created Good Beat Poker, a free online poker site using patented technology for audio and video—see and hear the other players at the table if you choose.