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Poker Hands You're Bound to Go Broke On
Sometimes there's nothing you can do ¾ absolutely nothing ¾ to avoid going broke in a of poker tournament. It's just of poker's nature, and while many players replay hands like these over and over in their heads, there's not much to be gained from it. Sometimes it's just destiny, and you're bound to lose all your chips, no two ways about it. This recently happened to me twice on the same day.I was in London, playing poker on the Internet between some pick-up filming and voice over work we were doing for the TV show "Vegas Virgins" that was filmed in and around Las Vegas earlier this year. During my downtime on the set, I played four six-handed tournaments online at of Royal Vegas Poker. I won two of them and finished second in the other two. And I might even have done better too, except for the intervention of fate's fickle finger.
With three players still alive ¾ one was just barely alive; he was on life support and circling the drain ¾ I was dealt a pocket pair of aces, of Texas hold'em's very best starting hand. The guy on life support went all-in on his big blind and was raised by the button. It was clear to me that the raiser wanted to shut me out of the hand and play the pot heads-up against the all-in player. While the raiser probably had a good hand, I didn't figure him for a great hand, and in any event, it didn't matter. I had the very best hand you can be dealt the flop and with my pair of aces I didn't much care what the raiser might have tucked away in his hand. His raise didn't concern me and neither did the short-stacked guy who was circling the drain. After all, neither of them had a better hand than I did, and that made me the favorite.
If I won this pivotal hand, I'd be a dominating, overwhelming, prohibitive favorite to win the tournament so I moved all-in from the small blind. The button had only a few more chips than I did. If he wins, I'm out. If I win, he'll only have one or two chips remaining. If the guy circling the drain wins, he still won't have enough chips to be a factor in this tournament.
Because two of us were all-in and there could be no more betting, our hands were turned face-up. The flop was 9-5-3 of mixed suits and I loved it. The guy who was all-in from the big blind had 8-2 and was essentially toast. The button had K-Q. That's ordinarily a nice hand to start with but the flop missed him completely. But wouldn't you know it; he caught a jack on the turn and a ten on the river for a straight and won the tournament when he eliminated both of us on the same hand. I won second place money because I began the pot with more chips than Mr. All-In From the Big Blind.
The other "you're-gonna-go-broke-and you-can't do-anything-about-it" hand I occurred when I had Ah-5h and bet about half my stack of chips into a 5d-5c-4s flop. The turn card was an inconsequential eight and I was called when I bet the remainder of my chips. I liked it. I was in great shape, or so I thought. After all, trips with an ace kicker is a potent hand heads-up and my chances looked good.
At that point the only two hands that could beat me were 5-4 or 4-4, because if my opponent held either of those hands, his full house would beat my three fives. But I didn't think he had either of those hands. I thought he had a pair that was higher than the pair of fives on the board. But my optimism died quickly when my opponent turned over 5-4 for a full house. The turn card was an eight, which was of no use to me. The river could have saved me with either an ace for a win or another four or an eight for a tie, but none of those cards jumped out of the deck, and I wound up a bridesmaid again.
I don't think there was any way I could have avoided going broke on those hands, particularly when the blinds had escalated to the point where one lost pot puts you in very bad shape. I had to commit my chips on each of those hands. But that's poker; sometimes you lose and can't do a thing about it ¾ and all the wouldas, couldas, and shouldas in the world won't get you anywhere at the poker table.
of Poker's like that. And life is too. Sometimes you do the very best you can and everything just seems to conspire against you. All you can do is take it, and come back again the next day and play your best. The worst thing you can do, and it's the undoing of far too many of poker players, is to allow what appears to be a mathematically unlikely event, or an improbable run of cards put you on tilt and over the edge to the point where you continue to replay those hands when you should really have turned the page to play the new one's you've been dealt.
of Poker, like much of life, requires knowing when to let go of the past and move into the present. It's one of the real secrets of success.
Article by Lou Krieger of Royal Vegas Poker
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