The last time I played poker, late in December, I was
fortunate enough to reach the final table of a Colorado Poker Championship main
event. Ultimately I will remember this tournament for two things: the
incredible two-hour rush I went on day two which vaulted me from the bottom of
the chip counts to the top, and a spectacular, unforgettable hand that took
place at the final table between two other players. First I will describe that
incredible rush.
Early on day two of the tournament, I found myself with just
8800 chips at 1200-2400 blinds. I was lucky to pick up pocket aces and double
up with a little money on the side, then more than doubled with kings against
my buddy Bryan Devonshire’s ace-king suited. I moved to a new table and
immediately doubled up again with queens against ace-king in a spot where I
considered just calling his 3-bet thinking he had the AK, but instead shoved
and found a queen-high flop.
I won another pot or two, then raised KQs in early position.
A local regular on my left called, with everyone else at the table folding. The
flop came Qs9cXd and I slowly made a continuation bet of ~8k. My opponent
quickly raised to ~22k with ~50k behind. I called, then checked the 8c turn.
The local reg quickly went all-in and I quickly called. He had QcJc and my hand
held.
Just a few hands later a 6BB stack shoved all-in from middle
position and I looked down at pocket kings. I just called, and then the big
stack on the button, Dan Schmitt called as well. The flop came JJ4 with two
clubs and I bet into a dry side pot. Dan called. The turn was a low offsuit
card and I made another bet. Dan called again. The river was an ace and I
quickly checked. Dan made a decent-sized bet and I went into the tank. I
thought he could have AQ of clubs or AT of clubs, but all other hands were
pretty unlikely. I didn’t think he would call preflop with QJs and probably not
KJs, which left only AJ and JJ as plausible hands with jacks in them. A
slowplay of pocket fours was possible but I wouldn’t call preflop with fours in his
spot and was hoping he wouldn’t either. Before the ace hit, I had been planning
to bet the river, putting him on a pocket pair throughout the hand. Dan looked
like he was capable of bluffing here, so I called. He turned over pocket
sevens.
Not too much later I picked up pocket queens in middle
position and brought it in for a raise. The guy to my left was in his twenties,
wearing a one-drop hoodie, and sitting on a huge stack of chips – though mine
was now larger. We had just been discussing the side pot hand with Dan and it
was obvious One Drop knew what he was doing. I figured he was some sort of
legitimate high-stakes pro, a rarity up in Black Hawk, and was going to avoid
entanglements with him if possible. He called and everyone else folded. The
flop came Q74 with two spades and a club. Knowing the best way to win a big pot
was to continuation bet, I did and he called. The turn was the 6c and I made a
bigger bet. One Drop now raised me to like 72k. He had about 380k behind. I sat
thinking for about a minute.
My first thought was that he had a big hand and wasn’t
bluffing. My second thought was that I wanted the money in now. If he had a draw I wanted him out, and if he didn't, I wanted the money in before something scary hit the river. My third thought was that he could be making a move and I should give him a chance to bluff some more off, but that thought was muted when I realized he didn't have too many chips for a shove to be absurdly large.
I decided the best way to get all the chips was just to move all-in. Although I thought this kid was a real player, I couldn't see him folding a big made hand with so many draws out. He
immediately looked distressed, but then said something magical: that he wasn’t
slow-rolling. When he said that I knew he had two pair or a set and was going
to call. To his credit, he mulled it over for another minute before putting in
the chips and flipping up pocket fours. The river wasn’t the last four and I found
myself with 880k in chips, 100x what I was sitting on just two hours earlier.
After that various players, railbirds and floormen came sidling by the table to look at the stack. I tried to act like I'd earned 'em, but almost all the chips had come with me holding queens, kings, or aces. It was another reminder of why it's so important to play your best short-stack poker and keep your head above water as long as possible. The rush could be right around the corner.
