Friday, December 31, 2010

December Poker Studs Championship: When Big is Little

Every month National League of Poker has a "Poker Studs" championship tournament for men only. (There's a separate tournament for women.) We never tried to qualify for this until this month. So did we win the title we dubbed "Stud of the Month?" Here's what happened Wednesday night....

:01 IN: We have Ad-Jc, and double the blind to 60. The flop is 4-6-Q, two of them clubs. We bet 30, and get a caller. The turn is Ac, and we bet in hopes of claiming the pot -- but the caller remains. The river is 3c. We bet another 60, and our opponent raises to 120. Only one card can beat us -- and he has it, Kc for a better flush! Ouch.

:12 IN: We have A-6 in the small blind -- and Ace high is good enough to win $280.

:18 IN: We have Q-10 of diamonds. The flop is 9-6-J, and we call a bet of 60 with an "open-ender." The turn is an 8, completing our straight! An opponent bets 200, and we happily call. The river is a 4, and when the opponent only bets 60 we push all-in with 450. He calls. His 6-6 is topped. We jump to $2,550!

:29 IN: We have K-K. The flop is 4-10-4, with a third 4 hitting the river. No one had quads, so our full house earns $1,650.

At the half-hour break, we had $3,140 -- good enough for 72nd place, from a starting 1,137 players. But several hands fell short after that. A-J didn't pair, and we folded to a big river bet. 7-Q of hearts brought two hearts on the flop, but no flush.

:57 IN: We have A-J of hearts with 875 chips left. Playing in lead position, we call with rising blinds.

ON THE FLOP: 4s-Ac-7h

Here's our chance for a big move. We push all in for our remaining 675. An opponent calls.

ON THE TURN: As

Three Aces! Yes!

ON THE RIVER: Ks

Three spades?!?! Oh no! Our opponent has 9-Q of spades! Running spades gave him a winning flush.

Right move + wrong cards on the board = a finish in 211th place for us. In our going-away message we write: "That's why I'm not a stud."

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