“One of the Greatest Card Games”

It was an ugly day in Austin Texas. Yucky rain! Despite the weather I was excited about the day’s events. We drove to the UT campus so that our daughter could take a music theory test for second graders. It was really cool in that we got there at 12:45 PM, so we had a little time to kill before I headed off to the poker tournament. My son and I decided to explore the Music Hall. What we discovered was that we could watch the UT Wind ensemble practicing for their world premier directed by I believe John Corligiano. They were playing a powerful piece and it was quite inspirational. Our daughter finished the exam in record time like most second graders. It was time to part ways and for me to head to the tournament.

I was starving so on the way to the tournament I thought I would pick up a quick burger or a sandwich. I thought Subway or Quizno's would be a good choice for a sandwich, so I headed down Red River toward downtown. Little did I know that an Arena Football game would be letting out. I got stopped by pedestrians for 15 minutes, making me a little bit frustrated. I made my way downtown only to find both Subway and Quizno's closed. Hmmm, where can I get something to eat. I thought Whole Foods has great sandwiches, so I pulled into the parking lot. Whoa what a zoo! Not a parking spot to be had. Damn! I wish I had headed to Wendy’s on MLK. Oh well! Hey there is a 7-11. I stopped there and got a ham and swiss cheese sandwich. It did the trick , but not quite what I had in mind. The timing turned out OK because I showed up for the poker game at about 10 minutes before 2:00 PM.

I was truly excited, because I have never played in a 5-card draw tournament. As the gracious host was counting the chips I managed to grab a Guinness. We made the standard introductions. I had played with all but one person before and one person was running late. I had a strategy in mind before I sat down so I was anxious. I drew the 3 spot and sat down with my rack of $300 chips ($25 buy-in + $5 for championship tournament). The blinds started at $1/$1 and they were to increase every 20 minutes. First round of betting matches the big blind (BB) and second round of betting is 2 times. the BB. Here are the players:

1S – Ms. L, who still had not arrived
2S – Chicken Feet (The Host)
3S – Yours truly
4S – Mr. M
5S – Mr. S
6S – Ms. B
7S – Mr. W
8S – Mr. J

My strategy going in was simple. If dealt a pair draw to the set and if I had open ended draw to straights or flushes I would stay in. Early on I got several small pairs and I typically called the bet and drew 3 cards. However, the trend occasionally was for there to be three bumps before it even came around to me. I started folding the small pairs when this happened.

I struggled with two internal battles. How to react to raises when in the blinds? What to do when dealt 2 pair? I still need some work on these two concerns, but more later.

I remember early getting a set of 6’s. I raised only to be reraised. I called Mr. M’s re-raise and I believe he had a set of tens. I also remember early calling a raise by Mr. M with Kings up. Of course he had a set. I really did not have a read on any of the players. I knew some of their tendencies, but I could not spot any tells. I especially had a tough time reading Mr. M who was sitting to my left. I picked up a couple of small pots here and there, but also lost a few. I believe at one point my stack was down to about $200 and I had given most of it to Mr. M.

There was one hand that fortunately for me I was not involved in. Chicken feet did not take any cards and there were several rounds of raising. When the cards were turned over Mr. W had AQ flush, Ms. L, and AK flush, and Chicken feet turned over a boat. Wow!

OK! The big hand of the day! Fortunately for me it was in my favor! I looked at my cards to see a set of aces. I raised. I believe the blinds were $2/$5 at this point. I believe there were two callers, including Mr. M. I drew two cards. To my surprise it was A7. Wow! What did my face look like holding quad aces? I bet the maximum. Mr. M reraised, fold by caller two and I re-raised again. Mr. M called! It was pretty exciting to turn over quad aces. I never saw Mr. M’s cards, but I believe it was a set of ladies.

OK! I am back! I did not complete editing this at Chic Fil-A, so I have to try and regroup.

After the beautiful quad aces, I believe my stack was near $500. We played another round or so when I was dealt KK. Blinds are now I believe $5/$10. I call the bet and Mr. M raises, Ms. L re-raises and I call the raises. Mr. M also called. I draw three cards. I did the Carl Sr. shuffle, which shuffling my cards without looking. I take a peek. I see the third King. My eyes light up! Then a I see a jack and finally another jack. Wow! Another monster hand. Ms. L bets, I re-raise, then Mr. M re-raises me. I am liking this situation. Ms. L folds and I re-raise again. Mr. M raises me back. Wow I have about $200 in this pot. Once you are heads up you can continue raising. I thought hard about re-raising again. Hmmmm! Mr. M has always had a hand when re-raising me. In fact early in the tournament he beat my kings up with Hooks full of Kings boat. I decided not to get greedy and called. I turn of my hand proudly. Mr. M says “I have all of the sevens!” What? I am stunned! I lost a little more than half my stack. What a great hand! At this time I am thinking I have now had my share of cards.

Soon Ms. L is the first one eliminated. Next was Mr. S! At this point I am short stacked and the blinds are $20/$40. Three big bets and I am all-in.

I get dealt pocket queens in the big blind. Everyone limps in so I get to draw cards for free, but I did not hit. I was intently watching the chip leader Mr. W. Here is where he made a move that taught me something. Most of the tournament he would draw his cards and not look at them until it was his turn for the action. He was the button so he took 3 cards. He dealt the three cards down on the table next to his two hold cards. He glanced at the top card, then never looked at the other two. He came in for the minimum bet of $80. For some reason my gut tells me that he only has a pair of jacks and did not hit, but he only looked at one card. I thought about it long and hard and folded my queens to live for another day. I never did see his cards, but I believe he got the best of me with a pair of nines. Man that was a great counter tell! He was sitting directly across from me and I had been concentrating on him the entire game. I believe he used that to his advantage. Great play Mr. W!

The next hand I get pocket Kings. I draw and get nothing. Woody bets and my gut told me he was buying the pot. I pushed my chips in only to see him turn over a pair of eights. Bummer! Man this tournament was a lot of fun!

Mr. J was out after me, then soon Mr. M. I left the game with Chicken feet winning a couple of large pots. I know for sure one was a bluff, but it worked. Chicken feet, Ms. B, and Mr. W were left to battle it out.

I did not want to leave, but I turn into mud if I am not in the tournament or home by 7:00 PM like I had promised. I e-mailed Chicken Feet and he told me that things started to drag on, so they negotiated a chop. Chicken feet got his money back and credit for winning the tournament. Ms. B and Mr. W split the money. Ms. B and Mr. W had already qualified for the championship, so permitted Chicken Feet to qualify. I guess that is only fair since he is the host and has had at least 2 runner up finishes. I hope I get at least one more crack at a seat in the championship. Definitely a fun series of tournaments. I am thinking about doing the same thing except for lower buy-ins. More for the fun and pride than the money. Chicken feet has done a fantastic job.

Oh yea! Here are some pointers! We had 8 players so everyone asked at the beginning how many cards can we draw. Everyone agreed that standard rules and if we run out of cards we will shuffle the discards. You know what! We only had to shuffle the discards one time. That indicated to me that everyone was playing Rock Garden poker!

A few more things I learned! I found myself folding low pairs when there were two raises prior to me. Most of the time I think that was wise. Once I even tossed away a pair of aces. Regrettable but two large raised before it came around to me. I thought someone has a set. Sure enough Ms. B stood pat. Chicken feet stood pat numerous times even when he did not have crap. It worked several times and a couple of times he even had the goods! Normally he is a Super Rock, so it was nice to see him mixing things up.
I am still not sure how to play when you have two pair. Seems like you should draw three. Two out of three times when I had four cards to a flush or open-ended straight I hit the straight or flush. Once I drew to an inside straight flush, but of course it did not hit. It was very difficult to gain any tells against these players. I did learn that when you have a strong starting hand you must raise. I did that several times and it isolated the field to a point where I became the favorite. I did stand pat once with 2 pair with an ace kicker. Mr. W drew one card and immediately folded to my bet. I would like to thank Mr. W. for showing me how to do counter tells and through your opponent off. I would like to call Mr. M a few choice names beating me with the quad sevens. Just kidding he was an absolute gentleman and we exchanged blows several times. Unfortunately he knocked me to the canvas.

Great group of players! Guinness was at the right temperature! And I believe 5-card draw is still one of the greatest cards games. I want to do it again!

Play on!