Queen's Revenge in London

After six wonderful hours in the British Museum and a nice Indian supper with my family, I taxied over to the Victoria Club casino in London, England. Since I am a member, I did not have to wait 48 hours to play, as required by British law (if you are planning to visit London, you should take steps to join the club in advance to avoid this wait).

When last at "The Vic" about seven years ago, pot-limit hold'em was the rage. However, on this Friday evening, there appeared to be more pot-limit Omaha high games going than hold'em. After a short wait, I took a seat at a £500 buy-in pot-limit hold'em table with two £10 blinds.

After about an hour of play in this relatively loose game, I had worked my £500 buy-in up to about £800 (a United States dollar is worth about two-thirds of an English pound). In middle position, I picked up my first good starting hand, pocket queens. With a "doubler" (who made it £20) and a caller around to me, there was £60 in the pot.

I raised the pot (£100 to go), since pocket queens play best against few opponents. Everyone folded except the doubler. There was now £240 in the pot.

The flop came K-8-4 offsuit. My opponent, who was a rather aggressive player from New Zealand, bet £200 pounds. What should I do?

Obviously, I would fold against most players. Actually, I thought he might be bluffing or pushing a lesser holding, but I did not want to commit my remaining £700 to chasing what might be a pair of kings. So, I folded and took the £100 loss.

About an hour later, I had about £950 in chips and picked up pocket queens again. In late position, I reraised the pot, making it £140 to go. Two players folded, but a blind and the New Zealander called. There was about £450 in the pot.

The flop came J-8-3 with two diamonds. The blind checked and the New Zealander bet £250. What should I do?

Although he might have had a set, it was unlikely that he had two pair. If he had pocket aces or kings, he probably would have raised before the flop. Since he had been betting most flops very aggressively, I thought that I probably had him beat. So, I pushed in my stack, raising his £250 by about £560.

The blind folded and the New Zealander called. There was more than £2,000 in the pot. He tabled his K-J and winced as I showed my pocket queens.

The turn card was a blank, but the last card was a king! So, he outdrew me and won with his kings and jacks. Ouch. "Rebuy!" The New Zealander, a nice guy, offered his condolences as he scooped in the money.

At around midnight, with about £1,000 in front of me, I was in early position and crawled in with the A Q (in loose pot- and no-limit hold'em, I often smooth-call with A-X suited). The New Zealander, who was in the small blind, made it £60 to go. I called.

In four-way action with about £250 in the pot, the flop came Q 10 6. The New Zealander led with a £200 bet. What should I do with my cards?

If at first you don't succeed … I tried again. I thought I probably had him beat and wanted to eliminate the other two players. I pushed my stack toward the pot. The dealer carefully counted out £850, leaving me with about £100. The other two players folded.

The New Zealander quickly called and reraised my last £100. There was about £2,200 in this pot. I tabled my A-Q and he tabled pocket kings! I was about to lose again unless an ace or a queen appeared.

The dealer methodically dealt an inconsequential turn card, and then produced the beautiful Q on the river! The good-natured New Zealander noted that he owed me one from earlier.

Thanks to that little boon, I thoroughly enjoyed playing at The Vic. And as always, we enjoyed our stay in London.