My L.A. Debacle

When September came around this year, I was ready to head off to London for the World Series of Poker Europe. But as the time to go drew near, I began to reflect. I haven't exactly been tearing up the tournament trail this past year or so, and this trip was going to put a $50,000-plus dent in my bankroll if I didn't have a high cash.

With margin calls on my stocks and a capital call on my shopping center (both in the mid six-figure range), as well as endless bills for my tavern, which I have to cover until my construction loan finally goes through (if it ever does), and my SEP-IRA contribution coming due, I figured I could miss London and go to L.A. The Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson) charity event was about to start, and I could catch a few cash games before I had to be back in Vegas to film an episode of Stargate Atlantis (I played myself).

I basically always win on my L.A. trips, so I was already counting how much I was going to win before I even got there. After my first night, things looked even better, as I started off with a $45,000 win in a $400-$800 mixed game. It was pretty much downhill from there.

I came down the next morning, and Billy Baxter was playing no-limit deuce-to-seven single draw. In the game with him were Vince, Little Al, and Tommy. Without Little Al or Tommy to play in a mixed game, there was no chance of starting one. I hesitated getting into a no-limit deuce game with Billy, as he is acknowledged as the best player in the world at that game (and it's the game in which I have the fewest hours of play), but with those two in the game, I figured I'd be all right.

I won a few pots right off the bat, but the problem was that my opponents never had much money on the table, so I didn't get full value for my hands. My first wheel draw of the day was also my first big pot.

The blinds were $200-$400 with a $100 ante. I made the standard raise of $1,500 to go from the button. Tommy made it $4,000 straight, which is the standard reraise in this game. He had about $10,000 left, which was about what was in the pot, so I was getting a good price to draw here. I called.

He stood pat and then checked to me. He didn't have enough to check-raise, so I figured he was most likely to have a 9 or worse. I caught, of all things, a 9. This gave me a good 9 (9-7-5-3-2), which will beat most nines and all of the other hands I thought he might have - a 10, jack, or possibly even a queen (he showed down several that day!).

I went ahead and moved in, and he quickly called, showing me a pat 8! Billy informed me that the odds of getting dealt a pat 8 are 136-1.Lovely! Not only that, but that 9 was the only card I could have caught that would make me bet and not win.

The next hand I lost came down like this: About 10 times in a short period of time, Tommy had kept raising and Billy had kept reraising. There was little chance that Billy had a legitimate hand all 10 times, so he was obviously pushing Tommy around. Well, this happened again. Tommy raised and Billy made it $4,000 from the small blind. I was in the big blind. I looked down at J-8-5-4-2. I had about $15,000, so there were three ways I could play this. The first was just pass. With only $400 involved, I'm not committed to this pot. On the other hand, an 8 perfect draw is hard to come by, so I don't want to throw it away too hastily.

The second was to smooth-call. This would give me a chance to make my hand or get away from it without going broke. The third was to move all in.

I liked this option, as there was a good chance I could win it right here or make Billy break a 10 or
possibly even a bad 9. Then, I could stand pat behind him with my pat jack. If Billy didn't break, I could, and then I'd be drawing at a perfect 8.

I went with option three, as it gave me the most chances to win the pot. Billy called, so there went my first chance. Billy then stood pat, so there went my second chance. I then missed my draw. Three strikes, and I was out.

Next, I raised from the button and was reraised by Vince (an experienced player) from the big blind. Vince had reraised me to $5,000, which was a thousand more than the standard reraise. I figured that he was either real weak or real strong. It didn't much matter which it was, as I was drawing to 8-4-3-2. If I completed it, I'd beat anything but a 7. I called and he stood pat, as I expected.

I sweat the card I caught, and this is where my lack of experience cost me a pot. I know I'm supposed to bet the pot here (which means I'd have had to move in), but for some reason, I looked at the card, an 8! That paired me, and I lost my heart and checked. Vince showed down a stinking jack. I would have won if I'd just pulled the trigger.

This deuce-to-seven is hard, and it's about to get a lot harder. But you'll have to wait till next issue to read about the hand that my dad says should happen once or twice in a lifetime.