AA -vs- 72o
You know you are a good poker player when you continually get drawn out on. As David Sklansky says, as you get to be a better player, you will get drawn out on more and more simply because you get your money in with the best hand, thus forcing the other person to draw out to beat you. Over the last 2 years, I have had so many people draw out on me, it is ridiculous. It makes me feel good in one sense, but it is never fun to lose a $2,000 pot.
I decided to go to Foxwoods on 11/13/2007 to watch the taping of the Final Table for the World Poker Finals. Donna and I got there around 11:45. We got our numbers about an hour later. The final table started around 5:00pm, so we had some time to kill. Naturally, I went to the poker room to play. The lists were pretty long, so I signed up for a bunch of games - 1/2 NL, 2/5 NL, 5/10 NL, 5/10 Limit, 10/20 Limit, 4/8 Omaha H/L, and 5/10 HOE. I figured whatever game called me first was the one that I would play. About 15 minutes later, I was in a 5/10 Limit holdem game.
I was not particularly into the game. I felt like playing loose and wild. The problem was that I was actually getting a lot of good starting hands. I kept raising and calling. The people at the table must have thought I was a clown (to put it mildly). One hand, while in mid position, I get:
I have this weird fantasy. I want to play 72o and flop a full house. I have told myself that whenever I get 72o and I can limp, I will play the hand regardless. So, I throw out a $5 chip to play the hand. There was one caller before the button raises to $10. The blinds fold. What the heck - its only another $5, so I throw in a second red chip. The 3rd person calls. The flop comes:
Boom-shakalaka!! Whack-a-Doodle! Jackpot!
I am laughing hysterically inside.
Me: Check
Seat 10: Check
Button: Bets $5
Me (laughing inside): Call
Seat 10: Fold
Turn:
Me: Check
Button: bet $10
Me: Raise to $20
Button: Pauses, call
River:
For a second, I wonder if he had KJ. I do not really care. This hand is going to the mat.
Me: Bet $10
Button: Call
I flip over my 72o triumphantly. This guy looked over his glasses and stared at the board for 15 seconds. He then flicks his cards so forcefully into the muck that one card flys off the table, being exposed in the process. I see that it is:
He then complains to a guy sitting next to him that he cannot believe his pocket Aces were cracked by a 72o (with a few choice words thrown in).
After I raked in the pot, I had to leave the table. I could not contain my laughter, and I did not want to rub salt into the button’s wound. Man, it feels GREAT to deliver a bad beat for once rather than being on the opposite end.
Alright, enough bad play - back to the basics 