Poker Night #89: Bigger Isn't Better

Maybe it's just as well that the poker room in north Florida was closed when we stopped there. We wound up losing our proverbial shirt in free poker at Lil Kim's Cove tonight -- never winning a hand, and dropping out in about 16th place in only one hour of play.

We should have known it wasn't our night when we were dealt A-Q early, raised accordingly -- only to find they didn't show up on the board at all. Then there was a show of strength which blew up in our face:

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: Q-J of clubs

We're in the big blind, so we ought to play "for free" -- except the dealer with a huge stack of chips decides to raise 2,000. Our chip stack stands at 4,250, so this is a big decision. After pondering a moment, we call. The small blind player between us calls as well.

ON THE FLOP: Qh-10h-2d

The "small blind" man playing first checks. We have top pair, and decide it's time to take a stand.

"I'm all-in," we say pushing in 2,250.

"You started this," other players at the table say to a slightly puzzled dealer.

"But I had the wrong suit," the dealer answers. A few seconds of thought later, he slams down his cards to fold.

"725 is all I've got," the small blind man quietly says.

"That's OK," we assure him as he calls. At least we'll stay in the game one more hand -- and we could get a 5,000-chip "bounty" by taking him out.

ON THE TURN: 9

These cards are flipped quickly, with neither of us showing.

ON THE RIVER: 5

"I've got a pair of Queens," we say.

"I've got a straight," the other man says. Sure enough, he has K-J -- and caught his open-ender on the turn. Ouch.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We took an Orlando souvenir for a "card protector" tonight, but never could get around in the table talk to our ministry point about Walt Disney World. Perhaps tomorrow.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 37 final tables in 89 nights (41.6%) - 8 cashes.