THE KING IS DEAD:
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
Steve Deadmoney
8 of us this week. Hosts Graham & Lindsey were joined by myself, Andy & Phil for the Dogs, with guests Craig, Jonathan (aka Jesus) and Pete. Regulars will be aware we have a plethora of poker-playing Pete's, but for those new to this site they are: Pete The Slag (Dog), Straight Pete, New Pete, and now we can add Pete Cabbage. Confusing huh? Our latest guest provided the nickname personally, which is based on his unusual surname that people find difficult both to spell and pronounce. None of the Dogs could care less if everyone was called Pete.
"No Limit Holdem, 5 quid rebuys for 2K in chips, 20 minute blinds, freeze-out after 5 blind raises. Got money?"
"Yep."
"Let's play."
A first hand all-in from Andy (that he claimed was a move recommended in Harrington on Poker - Padraig - sue the bastard) went uncalled. It was going to be a quiet start? But you know with the Dogs, it will never last. G & Lindz were both playing it tight, but found themselves all-in with each other (not for the first time - fnarr! fnarr!) G turned up AK to Lindz AQ. Oh my god! G?s ahead against Lindz! Quick! Someone bring me some earplugs! With all the inevitability of GWB fucking things right up, Lindz hit her Q and G was out.
The howling could be heard in Maidenhead... For those of you unfamiliar with the Dogs, G has more whine than a dozen French chateaux. He maintains that big slick never holds up for him, but they did on Sep 28th when he took Darren out and went on to win. Apologies if this is just my imagination or failing memory (both are VERY possible), but I seem to recall Andy providing a succinct and eloquent summary on behalf of us all:
"Shut the fuck up."
I was expecting Lindz to use that battle victory to go on to win the game, but she was out next.
At freeze-out, I'd managed to throw away the chip lead completely. Some foolish calls left me with nothing but a rebuy and an add-on (4K). But it had been quiet, so our chip leader, Jesus Jon (13K+) and Andy in second (11K) were just about in striking distance. A few hands in, and I'd called with suited connectors. The flop was 627, and I went all in. Jesus correctly put me on a pair (he is all-seeing, after all) and called with AJ. Well, actually he's not quite all seeing, because there was no pair for him and I doubled through.
Shortly after, he and I tangled again, with Pete involved too. There was a reasonable pre-flop raise, and then KK3 hit the board. The Cabbage pondered, and I showed G my cards. When he checked, I moved all in. They both folded to a perceived heart flush draw, and I was happy to give them some free information.
"They were both red." They were both diamonds too...
Onwards and upwards for Deadmoney the bullshitter. It was a turning point for the other 2 though, as despite showing a solid game and a few moves of his own, The Cabbage went out next. QT had looked good until I turned up pocket tens. Next, Jesus was sacrificed. Appropriately, he had a King (& a Q kicker), but Craig's A6 wasn't toppled. Ah well, no doubt you'll rise again (3 days time, that's Saturday - get yourself up to The Gutshot matey!)
Now there were 4. No one wanted to bubble, and the chips were getting passed around between us all like an Internet porn star. Apparently...
My luck started to wane as I lost 4 pots on the bounce, being outdrawn each time. Eventually, Andy (low stack) had to go all in with A4. I called (pocket 8s) and hit trips on the flop. Down to 3, and Craig was our new low stack, with Phil and I roughly equal in chips. I know in these situations I should wait for the low stack to be pressured into making a move, but when Phil called my raise, I felt obliged to call. I thought he was trying to bluff me off the pot, and besides, I like JKo... Phil turned up A9 suited, and we watched as 3 more spades buried the pairing of my king on the river. One day, I might even apply the lessons I've learned...
Heads up - Phil now had a massive chip lead. Craig went all in with K6, and Phil called with QT. The Q on the river confirmed it was ladies night (Graham, Jesus, myself and Craig had all gone out on Ks). That wasn't a slur against Phil, by the way (despite us all wanting to call Mr. Consistent a bee-atch). That's just poker.
Next week's news:
Book launch: Harrington On Slander
Graham Birch revealed as a misprint
Jesus - The 2nd Coming (only available on the net)
Deadmoney "Why I still love JKo"
Laura Bush reveals why she's always on top (George can only ever fuck up)
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