Another Big Game hand

First, let me state that Party Poker just really sucks if you play online. I mean, yes, there are a TON of fish, but I just get creamed at the $50NL table. I'm doing OK at the $100NL table, as I think a) the higher limits make me that more hesitant to play a marginal hand, and b) my style of game really is suited to playing against players who know at least a little about playing poker. You can't bluff, or semi-bluff, at bad players. They just don't fold; they suck out on you instead. And, yes, I know this is what makes you money in the long run, but that's only if you sit and play premium hands only - I don't, always (gasp).

Anyway. It's Friday and I decided to be a horrible Christian and skip Good Friday services to play poker instead. I was going to be at the Great Vigil, and going to miss my Illini play Saturday night since choir practice started at 7:30, it takes a half hour to get there, and the game was scheduled to start at 6:30. So, really, that was enough sacrifice for me - I didn't feel like skipping an entire weekend of extra income.

So, I leave for the boats after my chiropractor appointment and go through horrible traffic, enough to make me decide to go through the city instead of my usual route. I give a call to get on the list with what I think is an hour's worth of travel; but it's not. I call just as my time is up and say "please mark me as eating [this gives me another hour to get there], I'm 15 minutes away and traffic was amazingly bad", and call my friend who's in the game and he says there are no seats open, so I go and get some gas first. By the time I get up there, someone has taken my name off the list and there are two names up already for the Big Game ($400 minimum NL no max for those of you who are new), and since the game hasn't opened, I figure I'm NEVER going to get a seat; on top of that, they took my name off the "baby" game list ($50 min / $200 max NL) and that had 20 or so people on, and I just drove an hour and a half in crappy traffic to sit around for another five hours. I am so mad, and I turn around and am ready to storm off and go to the competing casino when Pudge, the very slim floor manager, comes over and says "Hey Hey what's wrong", I tell him my situation and he says "Don't worry, I've got a seat in the small game for you right now, and I'll fix the big NL list". He shows me to the open seat ahead of everyone else on the list (where I was anyway, but still); I look at the list of the big game and it's two of the people I like and would rather have in the game before me anyway, and I tell Pudge not to worry about putting me first on that list, I'll just play in the small game, until a seat opens up. The two people on the list don't play the small game, so they'd be sitting around bored while I could play at the little game - and besides, I believe in karma, and this is all just storing it up for the big game, IMO.

I play for about an hour at the little game, and end up $100, which isn't bad, especially since I ended up in for $300 instead of $200. Alas. Then my name was called for the big game, and this had a guy we call Barbecue, because his favorite phrase is "I'm going to barbecue you!" ... and he often does; I've been tosted over the weber myself once, and it wasn't fun. However, with "Q" in the game, instead of playing $5 / $10 blinds, we are playing $5/$10/$60-$85 depending on Q's raise. Thus, I sat in that game struggling for a bit, losing my set to a flush draw that hit on the turn and was slightly ticked about that, so Sully and I grabbed dinner sooner rather than later, and thank goodness he has a VIP pass or we would never have eaten.

After we get back from dinner, I'm much more relaxed (and fed), and ready to play. I'm in the CO, and Q's to my direct right, and to the right of him is Crazy Russian Guy (CRG). It goes, $5, $10, fold to the CRG who calls, $85 from Q, and I look down and see JTh. I call the $85, so does the CRG.

The flop: Kh Qc 9c. Holy moly, I flopped the nut straight!

CRG bets $50, Q calls, and I get greedy despite the flush draw out there and just smooth call the $50. I probably should have re-raised.

The turn comes a 9s [Kh Qc 9c]. Hmmmm, there could be a full house out here, but these two guys are so not betting a mere $50 on 2 pair. I think I'm good.

CRG bets $400, Q calls, and I look at my $1750 and say "Raise to $1000." Okay, so I should have just gone all in here and saved any decisions on the turn, but again, I got greedy.

CRG calls, Q looks at me and (thankfully) has played with me enough to know that I am not betting THAT much on a mere 9, and he says to me, "Well, lady, I think you've got a hand," and folds. He's really the one I was worried about and I didn't want to be Q'd again.

The River is an itty bitty 8h [9s Kh Qc 9c]. at this point, I know I"m calling because if that guy called $1000 on 98, well he was going to get all my chips.

CRG goes all-in. I don't even hesitate for a second before I say "I call" and flip my hand over, to the gasps and amazement of the regulars*. CRG mucks his cards, and the dealer starts counting my remaining chips and gets me that amount from CRG.

*Who say, a) from Solid Mike - "Wow, nice call with the possible full house on board" - to which I said, "oh come on, he didn't have a full house." b) from Sully - "How about going all in on the turn next time and saving any more decisions?" I did tell him he was probably right on that one. c) "Wow, I thought you actually had a hand! I thought you were going to turn over a full house or at least the nut straight!" This from Kenny, and I adore Kenny and say "HEY! I did have the nut straight, I flopped it!" and I replayed the board for him and he said "Ooooh, okay. Good hand!"

I have a reputation of being a very solid player and not betting or calling unless I have a good hand, which allows me to do things like get Q to fold, which he wasn't gonna do for most other folks at that table, but my raises actually tend to mean something. This is probably why I do decently at the big game, and not so well at places like Party where I just get rivered out the wazzoooooooooo.