Those in my poker circle who have played with me long enough already know that I will always call a pre-flop raise (and quite often a re-raise) with 'the Ace-cracker' and on those rare occasions that I do go all-in against them post-flop it is inevitably The Beer Hand that will be staring proudly back at them at the showdown. I can't help it. It's in my contract.

 

In the first game in question I am sitting at a six-handed game with only one player who is aware of my prediliction for The Magic hand. We're playing small stakes No Limit Hold 'Em - £5 buy-in for 1500 in chips - blinds are fixed at 25/50, and through a mixture of uncanny reads on my opponents and incredibly tight aggressive play I've managed to work my stack up to about 1525 when I (on the BB) am dealt the beautiful-to-behold Beer Hand in glorious technicolour - 7c, 2d. Hippity hoppity.

 

UTG calls, EP (always aggressive and impossible to put on a hand) raises to 150. Folded round to me. I call (cheap as chips!). UTG calls. 3 players see the Flop - the 'could-it-BE-more perfect' Ac, 7h, 2c. Aaaah, was there ever any doubt? I check to UTG, who bets out 200. EP, who has seen all this before, wisely and quietly mucks his hand (probably some premium hand like 68o, knowing him) and nods sagely to himself as I quietly re-raise to 400. UTG thinks for a moment and announces "re-raise". Another 200. Baaaaa. I know I have him covered but think the occasion demands that I ask my opponent how much he has left. "250" is the reply. I shrug "I guess I'll put you all-in then". He quickly calls and triumphantly flips over Ad, 8s. Turn is a 3s, River a Qs. "Best Damn Hand in Poker".

 

I know perhaps I shouldn't but I felt I just  had to get the camera out to catch the poetry of the showdown, and my piccy is attached. Notice my opponent hurriedly pushing the chips towards me in disgust and disturbing the quiet symmetry of the board cards. Some people are just sore losers...

 

Second game was 6-handed Omaha 8-or-better and again in the BB I look down to find J-10-7-2. Raised pre-flop and four of us see the flop, which is Q-7-2 rainbow. UTG checks, SB (the wife of my opponent at the previous table) bets the pot and all call. Turn is a Five, two diamonds. Now UTG bets. SB raises the pot. I announce that I have no idea whether I'm ahead or not and pronounce "Let's just see how many loose calls I can make". Button folds, clearly on to me (this is the aggressive EP from the previous table, who's obviously just woken up and noticed the flop). UTG calls.

The River comes The Magnificent 7. Wheeee. Show tunes. I can't help but say something along the lines of "Well that must have hit me, let me check my hand". UTG checks. SB bets. I immediately raise the pot. UTG folds. SB re-raises. Eep. Brakes on. I scratch the old noggin and re-play the hand in my head. She bets the flop, raises the turn and re-raises on the River? The possibility of her having Queens suddenly dawns on me, and I reluctantly just call. I should have trusted the Poker Gods more and invested my remaining stack, safe in the knowledge of the mysterious powers of X at work. She flips over ducks for the lower boat, twos full of sevens. Gah.  Bring me my bokkle of milkie, a Farley's rusk and a blankie. Oh, and push those chips this way!

 

Dave

I was in the BB and the tourney had gone from 302 players to around 30 and I was the chipleader at this point.  Well I had a slow streak of hands and with the blinds coming around to me I felt like odds were I was going to catch a good hand in one of the blinds. 

BB is mine and here comes the deal...7 2 os, sheesh!  I am in for $3k and just hating the fact that I am stuck with this hand and to my shock no one raises the BB.  In fact, 3 people limp in....

So, I thought for a second about bluffing with a $3k raise then decided that someone would really push back, so I just check. 

The flop comes 7 2 7 and I almost fall off my chair!  SB bets $3k, I call and so do the other 2 limpers.  Now the turn ? (I don't remember, because I am dancing too much!)  All I remember is the SB bets again and we all call then the river, an Ace, now there are 3 hearts on the board and I am begging, someone please go all in with the flush or AK. 

So SB bets, I contemplate the raise, decide not yet!  I call, next player goes all-in, last player folds, SB calls and then I re-raise the SB and he calls. 

They had a flush and AA with a K kicker to my Full House 7's over 2's.  Had anyone raised preflop I was out.  Thank goodness the AK in the SB did not raise! 

 

Needless to say that did not get me the tourney win since I had to pick up my daughter from preschool and missed 30 min or so of the tourney.  By the time I got back I was blinded down to 24K and 4 players left.  That's where I finished. 

Oh well, it still was a satisfying moment! - John.

72o triumphs valiantly in a home game - By Heath

About 6 months ago (before
i read the article), I managed to off a victory with 72..  Here's the scenario:

I'm in the big blind of a tournament (home game tournament of about 7
players).
Sean (1st position) raises to 2.5 times the big blind.  Everyone folds
around to me...and by this time, I'm really fed up by Sean's gimmick
raises, so I re-raise him.  (The blinds are 1 and 2...he raised to 5, and I
re-raised to 12). He calls.

Flop: KQ2 rainbow.
I check, he bets 10, I raise to 20, he calls.

Turn: Jack....(board of mixed suits).
I check, he bets 10, I raise to 20, he calls.

River: .........2!!!!
I bet 40, he calls, and says "do you have anything,"
I pause and say "I have 3 deuces," as I triumphantly slam my holy shrine
down on the table. He mucks, later telling me he had big slick (garbage).

He lost 92 chips on that hand, and we only start each tournament with 100,
and he had about 140 before that, so he was reduced to about 48 chips, and
he went on to bust a few hands later!!!!