June Poker Studs Championship: Gladly for-A's

The monthly championship games we play at National League of Poker tend to have different moods. The Senior Championship tables tend to be tight and cautious, but the Poker Studs Championship can be wide-open. Wednesday night we tried to adjust.

:00 IN: We start the tournament with A-A under the gun! We limp in, knowing how some online players love to push on the first hand -- but no one does. The flop is A-6-9, and we bet 200. One man calls. The turn is 4, and WE push all-in with two spades showing. The opponent calls, with a mere A-7. The river is 5, and he's out right away while we jump from a starting $1,000 to $2,090.

:01 IN: Next hand -- A-A again! This time we're in the Big Blind, and we raise 150. One man calls. The flop is 5-4-K. We bet 200, and the opponent folds. Another win of $505.

(Amazingly, on the third hand someone else has A-A! We fold pre-flop - but who's shuffling these cards?)

:09 IN: We try to limp in with 8-J of diamonds. The flop is 2-Q-4, and we bet 100. Someone with a big stack calls. The turn is 10. We bet 100 again, and get called. The river is 8 - and with two pair, we bet 400. The opponent calls, but only has a 4. Another $1,380 win!

:22 IN: After some misses, we have 8-6 in the small blind. The flop is Q-10-9. Players check. The turn is J, giving us a perilous "under-straight." We make a tentative bet of 60, and get called. The river is Q. Everyone checks, but our opponent only has A-4. We gain $860.

:29 IN: The next small blind brings 9-9. We raise to 300, three times the big blind. The flop is 2-5-4, and we bet 280. Players call. The turn is 6 -- and an opponent goes all-in. The threat of a straight seems too serious, and we fold. Big betting didn't work.

We reach the half-hour break at 1,865. We're #159, with 454 players remaining (1,118 started).

Then we started missing, or folding to big raises. A-7 was folded. Then 2-2 brought high cards on the flop. Then A-10 missed on the flop, and a big bettor chased us away. Those things drained our stack until....

:54 IN: We have 10-K with 225 left, and go all-in. But the board is no help -- showing 9-A-4-5-8, three of them clubs. A man with 7-5 of clubs makes a flush, and makes us leave. We finished in 234th place - still not a stud.