Once again it’s been too long since I had time to play poker in Atlantic City, but I managed to get there today. (It helps that DC Comics is closed all week!) I sat down at a $1-2 No Limit Hold-em table at about 10:30 AM and played for about 1.5 hours, winning a few small and medium sized pots, but also losing a few. No big, dramatic hands. At noon I broke for lunch a few dollars ahead.
After lunch I sat down at another table and played for two more hours. This time I was getting better cards and in bigger hands. My $200 stack of chips went up and down in larger bites. Early on I was dealt 4-6 in the big blind, and no one raised, so I was in the hand with about five people. The flop came 6-6-6, giving me quad sixes! This was a potential Bad Beat Jackpot winner, if my sixes were beat by a better hand, so that got my attention! I checked the first round, and a player to my left bet $10. Everyone else dropped out, I called, and it was just the two of us. Next round I bet $20 and she called. Things were looking promising, at least she had a playable hand. Another round of $20 bets (didn’t think a big raise would have been called), and I won against her full house. No Bad Beat payoff.
At one point I was up about $5o and found a pair of Aces in my hand. I got into a bidding war with another player, but the cards on the table didn’t look promising for me. I had a flush draw, but otherwise just my Aces. When he went all-in for $135 I couldn’t call, and that brought my stack down considerably.
I had decided to leave at 2:30, and it was 2:15. I’d only have a few more hands to play, and my stack was down to $100, meaning I was behind $100. I was dealt Ace-Jack, which seemed promising, and the flop turned up another Jack and two low cards. Another player bet $20. I decided it was time for a big move: either double up or go home broke. I went all in. He called. I figured I had about a 50-50 chance of winning with my pair of Jacks, putting him on a possible two pair or even trips (three of a kind). Luckily for me, another Jack came out on the River, giving me trip Jacks, and a big win.
The very next hand I was dealt Ace-King. The flop brought out another King, giving me a pair. I bet strong, and took that pot, too. At 2:30 I left the table ahead $70. A nice payoff for a fun few hours of poker. Wish I could play more often.