Bloodbath!

You know how they say that some days you're the windshield and some days you're the bug? Well folks, last night, I was the bug. A big, steaming, runny bug, smashed on the windshield of the poker table...

Of course I wanted to ride my hot streak, so I headed down to the 'M' around 7:30. There was still a waiting list for the only 4-8 table when I got to the casino, so I cruised over to the Vig Deli to grab some dinner.

I had a $5 off coupon that was about to expire, so I didn't even have to spend five bucks for my grilled brat and macaroni salad. (Both were really good, but damn, service there is sloooooooow). I was just finishing up when Sammi came wandering by, but she was headed in the wrong direction. I told her that I hoped she wasn't getting sent home, but luckily it was a false alarm--she just got the first break, that's all.

When I got back to the poker room, a seat had finally opened up, so I bought a rack of white and took a seat.

The first 45 minutes were a complete train wreck, bloodbath, massacre, call it whatever you like. All I know is that I felt a lot like Ned Beatty in Deliverance. It was ugly. I kept getting dealt premium hands, and they all turned to shiat. After one particularly gruesome suck-out, I sent the following text message to a handful of my friends:

So far, AA, KK, AK, 88, 77 cracked. Been here 45 minutes, down $160+.

The responses I got were entertaining, however. Dougie told me to pull the ripcord and Eject Eject Eject!, CoolP told me not to worry, it'll even out eventually, and my gal Sheena just wrote back Where you at?

What made it even worse is that right after I sent that text message out, I got pocket fives, flopped a set, and lost another huge pot to pocket threes when the board ran out 6-5-Q-2-4. No amount of betting would push my opponent off her hand... It was awful.

I just couldn't get any big hands to hold up at all. In fact, one of my better pots came on a sick bluff. There was a guy in the hand who normally plays 2-5 No Limit every night, but there was no game, so he was playing in the minors with us last night instead. There were a lot of scare cards on the board, and he even had position on me, and when I check-raised him on the river with absolutely nothing, he folded and said something like Your Aces are good... I thought he was gonna come unglued when I showed the 6-5 offsuit.

That was about the only bright spot in the evening until Sammi came along. On the first hand of her down, she dealt me pocket Queens, I rivered a set and got a decent pot off of a guy who had nothing but a pair of Jacks. She also got me two more pots before she left, but by then the damage was done--I was too far in the hole, playing a shorthanded game, so my prospects of breaking even were almost nil. In fact, the game broke around 11 pm, so I took off, down $250 for the night.

I called back to my poker room to see if they had a game, and they did, so I headed back over there, hoping to make back some of my losses. A couple of the gals I play with were there too, so it was a fun table. However, I just couldn't get over the hump--my play was inconsistent and I went from being up $40 to being down $50 for several hours--back and forth all night long.

Sometime just after 4:00 am, I raised with Ace-Jack of diamonds, got five callers, somebody else built a huge pot, and I went runner-runner to get the nut flush on the river. Finally, the tables had turned! I was able to put a bad beat on somebody else instead of it happening to me. Whew. I raked a $150+ pot and ended up making back $110 of my losses from the 'M', so for the night, I was only down $140. That was a relief. And since I'd won so much the night before, it didn't sting as badly when I considered the big picture.

But that hand pretty much broke the table--I think we played one more orbit after that and then cashed out.

Now that I'm home, safely back in my crypt before the sun comes out, my plan is to sleep for a couple of hours and then get some more moving prep done. Last night, before I went out, I got a lot of little things done, nothing you can really see at first glance, but my desk and closet can feel the difference.

Tonight, I may go have a beer or two with my blogger gals, and maybe go back to the 'M' for a couple of hours, but it'll be an early night. I've got a day shift scheduled on Friday, so I can't stay up all night.

Mikey