I glance at my watch and see it's 6:15 AM....I then look at my stack. I'm still surviving but my stack is dwidling...Frustration starts to set in....I sit on the end of my seat, wondering when my big pot will come...
"Patience"....that's what all the books say, but are the books running as badly as me...probably not...
Around me, the tables at Planet Hollywood are breaking. The room is down to two games, many of the monster stacks are leaving the room, most satisfied with their profit...The only ones left are the people who are stuck, losing such as myself..Most are tossing in their chips trying to hit that miracle card to get them unstuck. I, on the other hand, have kept my discipline...it's "one long session" I've heard many poker players have said...don't think of the short term...think long term.
I start to feel anxious....I take a sip of my water and see a raise in my front of me...I look down and see Pocket Queens...The raise was $12...I decide to reraise to $30....Everyone folds to a pleasant looking Asian gentleman who calls...we take the flop heads up...
Before the dealer, the Asian guy and I share an awkward glance....as if we've battled in hands before although this was the first hand (that I recall) that we were involved in...Two titans in card sword fight, pecking at each other, until we get the knockout shot. The dealer puts out the flop, his thumb slowly seperating the three cards until it's lined up ever so neatly on the middle of the felt...
I read the board....J 10 4 rainbow...I gaze at the board as if I'm taking a quiz, surgically piecing the puzzle of this flop..Did it hit my opponent....What range is he calling my re-raise? Does his range fit this board.
The pleasant Asian gentleman gently taps his index finger on the felt....I quickly cut out 10 $5 chips and fire them into pot. Suddenly, the pleasant Asian gentleman roars, "ALL IN"!! The quick change in personally startles me a bit. We exchange another awkward glance...dammit, this is fine mess I gotten myself into.
Sitting in seat 1, I leaned forward to get a look at my opponent, who's seating in seat 10....he is stoic...Sitting still as a statue. I try to get some information from him....I point to the Jack and 10 sitting motionless on the table, asking him, "Did you flop this or that" Of course I'm thinking did he flop a set of 10's or Jacks. I look at his two cards sitting in front of him and wonder if he had a pair matching any of these cards on the board.
But I have an over pair....After what seemed like an eternity, I turn over my pocket Queens for the entire table to see, but I wanted only one person to see...the pleasant Asian gentleman, wanting to get a read of what kind of hand he's holding. Unfortunately, the pleasant Asian gentleman gave me no indication of what he's holding. I could feel the saliva forming like a powerful wave zooming from the Pacific Ocean....the hammer was coming down and I have nothing to stop...Finally I flick my Pocket Queens into the muck, The pleasant Asian Gentleman slowly slips his hand to the dealer and collects the pot..
At this point, I admit defeat...I quickly grab the remaining chips and cash out....As step onto the Las Vegas Strip, I let the warm Vegas air collapsed on my face...I shake my head and walk back to my car....
Dammit, that wasn't very fun. But always....there is another day...I will live to fight another day....
THE END....
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