Poker Night 119: Let It Snow

In poker lingo, pocket pairs can have all sorts of slang names. Tonight at Soho Bar and Grill, we saw snowmen. Indoors.

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: 8 of spades - 8 of clubs

A man sitting to our left already has noticed we've barely played any hands. We explained we were waiting for the right moment. This looks like one -- but we merely call, as several other players do.

ON THE FLOP: J-9-8

A third snowman decorates the green felt. We bet 600 -- which may seem modest, but it's the "bottom trip." Most players fold, but one man with a studded $ sign on his hat calls.

ON THE TURN: 6

A lower card means a higher bet. We toss out 1,200, but the man across from us still calls.

ON THE RIVER: 3

We're not sure what our opponent has. Might he be sitting on pocket Jacks? We slow down and bet 600 again. He calls -- and shows J-8 for two pair.

"I'm toll free," we say. As in 8-8-8. As in a handsome pot. This is a classic case of two pair feeling deceptively strong, when an opponent has a hidden three of a kind.

But then came a couple of big losses, which left us with only 1,500 chips at the one-hour break. A desperate all-in push with J-6 of clubs was good enough heads-up for a recovery to 9,000. But higher blinds made that fade away, and we wound up 11th -- missing the final table, but still gaining our best result at Soho since early November.

MINISTRY MOMENT: On a night which had several, we'll long remember that man with the $ sign on his hat. He wound up next to us at the semifinal table, and brought up the name of God a lot with nearby friends. Trouble was, profanity followed that name.

"That's the difference between you and me," we finally told him. "If I had your success [and his chip stack was much bigger], I'd be praising God." (See for example Psalm 113:1-3.)

"Instead of what?"

"Instead of saying what you said."

"What did I say?" (No, we did not repeat it for him.) He admitted after a moment, "I don't know what I'm saying."

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by that. When a bar offers big poker chips as bonuses for buying beer and other beverages, some players can lose their senses -- yet somehow they still have enough sense to keep playing poker and doing well.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 48 final tables in 119 nights (40.3%) - 10 cashes.