The Winning Streak Continues

On Friday, I entered the Venetian DeepStack Showdown Poker Series. And things went pretty well. I did bust out once, due to a questionable call I made, but I bought back in and otherwise things generally went really well. In fact, I won most of my races (when I shoved and got called by another player and the odds were about 50/50). As a mathematician, I don’t believe in luck or streaks, but if I did, I’d say that I’m getting lucky and my winning streak is continuing.

Day 1

I ran into Jeff Platt, one of the best-known and respected poker announcers in the world, and a friend of mine. He also plays poker, has won a number of tournaments, and recently finished second in a major tournament. He’s just been nominated for a 2024 Global Poker Award for Best On-Air Talent. Good luck, Jeff! Unfortunately his luck didn’t extend to the poker table that day, as he busted out just short of the money.

I also played against Dan Heimiller, a repeat WSOP winner who is ranked 5th in all time number of live tournament cashes and 12th in all time number of WSOP cashes. He and I had a nice conversation about… cats, dogs, and being allergic to them. You never know what topics will come up at a poker table. Dan didn’t make it to Day 2 either.

Also in the mix was Adam Walton who came in third at the 2023 WSOP for $4 million. Yes, that’s real money not poker chips. I see Adam around a lot and he’s a really nice guy. Adam did make it to Day 2 with a fairly large stack.

Early in the day, I had been running well and building my stack to a nice size of about 70K from a starting stack of 40K. I got AK and bet 3K when the blinds were 500. I got one caller. The board ran out 8JA3K. I was betting 6K each round, and the other player kept calling. On the river, giving me top two pair, As and Ks, I bet 10K. The other player raised to 40K. It felt too big, like a bluff. If he had a great hand, he wouldn’t have bet so much because he would want me to call rather than fold. I thought he could have a pocket pair and had hit a set, but I just didn’t think he’d had a pair pre-flop. Using my “reverse logic,” I called the bet. I was kind of right. He didn’t have a pair; he had Q 10 for the nut straight. I don’t know why he stayed in the hand so long because if he didn’t get that K on the river, he would have lost a lot of chips. Instead, I lost over 3/4 of my big stack. I had been doing well until then.

At that point, I took a few gambles. I got 8♦10♦ in the big blind. One player did a big raise and 2 players called. I decided to call for nearly half my stack. The board ran out 5762 with one more card to go, giving me a "double gutter" meaning two ways to get a straight: I needed a 9 or a 4. I planned to shove and hoped to get lucky, but the player before me bet enough to put me all in. I decided to call, because folding would leave me with a tiny stack. I might get lucky and if not, I could always buy back in. The other players folded, including one player who I later found out had pocket Qs. I said, “I need to get very lucky,” and turned over my cards. The other player turned over... 8♣10♠. We were ecstatic, fist bumping and high fiving each other! Neither the 9 nor the 4 came on the river, so we both ended up with 10-high hands. We got the better hands to fold and we chopped a big pot!

Unfortunately, a gamble shortly after that didn’t turn out so well and I busted out. I immediately bought back in. While there were no particularly notable hands, I won every race I needed to win after that. My stack started to get low at a couple points toward the end, and I even shoved with K♣10♣ and got called by A♠Q♣ but the board ran out K783 10. I won’t ever feel bad about getting lucky and giving someone else a bad beat after all the bad beats I’ve gotten over the past couple years. When we got down to 21 players, it took about 2.5 hours to get to the bubble (16 players) and finally burst it at 15 players out of 120. I got home around 1:30 AM, but I got extra sleep the next day and I was ready to begin the fight again on Sunday.

You can see the results of Day 1 far here. My stack was right in the middle, so I felt pretty good.

Day 2

The day started with 52 players remaining out of 408 entries over 3 days. Blinds were 5K. My starting stack was about average, 272K or 54 big blinds, a very good start.

Two big stacks were going heads up. The board was 2♠5♠5♥9♠. One player shoved. The other called. The first player had 4♦5♥. The second player had J♠6♦. The river was 8♠ giving one player a flush to bust out the other player.

I got pocket Js, bet big and everyone folded. On the next hand I got pocket Qs and bet big again. A short stack raised. I used a time extension thinking about it. If he had AA or KK, he probably would have shoved. He could have AK and then we'd be racing. I decided if he wanted to see a flop, he'd have to pay, so I shoved. He called with JJ. I knocked him out and increased my stack significantly.

I got 7♦7♣ in the big blind. One player did a big raise from 8K to 25K. If another player hadn't called, I might have folded but now the pot was worth more, so I called. The flop was 8♦2♥5♥. One player bet 20K. The other player called. I thought about it and called. The flop was not in either of their ranges, because most betters usually bet big only if they have big cards, so I could still be ahead. One of them could have a flush draw, though. The turn card was 7♠. I now had the second nuts but there was still a possible flush. The other player bet 40K. I shoved. He thought for a while, which was good for me, and folded. I didn’t want him to have a flush draw and get the flush on the river.

I got pocket Js. I raised from 10K to 30K. A short stack with 120K shoved. I didn't have much choice but to call since I had already put in so many chips. He had pocket 6s. I won!

At the first break of the day there were 31 players left.

I felt better about this tournament than I have in a long time. I was getting decent cards, no one was playing crazy at my table, I was winning races when the odds were in my favor, and I was maintaining a decent stack. It felt like poker used to feel for me. Like it ought to feel.

We were down to 3 tables, 27 players.

I lost a couple big hands in a row. I had AJ against the tournament chip leader. He raised pre-flop, and I called. The flop was all low cards. He bet again and I called. The turn was another low card, so when he bet again, I had to fold.

Then I got 6♦6♠. One big stack raised, and I called. The flop was 3♠4♠5♣, giving me an open-ended straight draw. He bet and I called. The turn was Q♠. I now had a straight draw and a flush draw. He bet big. The river was 7♠ giving me a straight. I now had a straight and a flush, but it was a small flush. He bet about 3/4 my stack. Any large spade would beat me, so I folded.

Wow! I got A♠3♠. Another player raised from 15K to 25K. I called. The flop was 4♦5♣K♣. All I had was ace-high with an inside straight draw. But it was a good hand to bluff with, so I shoved. To my relief, the other player used up a time extension thinking. Unfortunately, he called with... pocket Qs. The turn was 9… The river was... A! The proverbial ace on the river! I doubled up.

Then I played a hand wrong. I was in a 3-way pot with A 10. The flop was 89J. Both players checked to me. I should have bet, but I decided to play it safe and checked. The turn was another 9. One player bet a lot. I called and the third player folded. The river was K. The remaining player bet even more, and I folded. He showed his bluff, 72, the worst hand in poker.

I was short-stacked and shoved under the gun with KJ. I got called by KQ. Nothing came up, so I busted out at #21.

Overall it was another good run, one of several this year. I’m in the black for 2025. I hope to carry this “good fortune” into the 2025 World Series of Poker this coming summer and win that elusive WSOP bracelet.

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.

Note: if you want a reference to poker lingo, click here.