It was dark, you could feel the excitement in the air. I'd had a lot to drink and I'd been waiting for this moment for my whole life. It's a rite of passage that sometimes happens early but there must be some people who go through life just waiting for it to happen. And it was my time. Unfortunately it was all over in a couple of minutes but they were some of the best minutes of my life and I'll never forget them. I'd popped my cherry.
But get your minds out of the gutter as this has nothing to do with what you're thinking about - It's actually about poker.
I'm quite a few beers deep and am at a very decent game where the chips are flying around the table so fast my head is spinning. Luckily the beer is making my head spin the other way so I'm perfectly compus mentis.
I raise from late position with Q-10 of clubs and get 4 callers - both blinds and the original MP limper. Flop comes Ac-Kd-Jc. Oh my god as I flop the nuts with a redraw and the BB leads out for $35 which is called before getting to me. But what to do now? A call will probably entice the SB to call but if I raise I'm effectively playing my hand face up. So I elect to call. Unfortunately the SB folds but the turn is utterly perfect - King of clubs. Some wee has definitely come out now I'm that excited and I try my best to look impassively at the table.
BB now leads for $75, it folds to me and I min raise to $150. The reasons I do this are another club potentially kills any action, we're both pretty deepstacked at $700 or so apiece and this guy is never folding a min raise unless he's got complete air - in which case he won't put another penny in on the river. He thinks about it for a minute or so before shoving. More wee has come out and I snap call faster than the speed of light. He asks if his King is any good. As if it is when I've effectively broken the laws of physics with the speed of my call. I tell him he's drawing dead as I flip over my cards. The meaningless river is dealt (from what I could tell this guy didn't have a full house) and the dealer pushes me the pot.
I'm stunned.
I've been playing poker over 10 years and I've never had a Royal Flush before - I throw the dealer $10 (far more than I'd usually tip at a $1/$3 game and just sit there for a couple of minutes, happy with myself for finally getting it done. I almost wish I smoked so I could sit back and savour the moment.
How long had you been playing before you hit your first Royal Flush?
I actually had some decent luck. I had to check my blog to remember how many and where: two online (Bodog and True Poker) and three in Las Vegas (two at Bally's and one at Venetian). One of the Bally's Royals got me a bonus of, I believe, $680. However, I now have not had a Royal in Hold em since December 2012. Funny how things work!
ReplyDelete3 live and 3 online. That’s pretty impressive
DeleteI've never hit one all by myself, but I was playing low limit holdem at my local casino and twice in one night the board was a royal flush. On one of those somebody bet and a player folded.
ReplyDelete5 to a Royal on the table and someone folded? I’ve done a few stupid things at the table but I think I’d give myself a lengthy ban if I did that
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ReplyDeleteNicely written first paragraph! I have had a few online but live poker: there is only one story...I was in a small buy-in tournament holding K-J of hearts. We were down to two tables and near the money. The flop was Ah-x-x. There was a bet and a raise. If I called and missed, I would have been out of the tournament few hands later. Long story short, I folded and the turn and river came out Ten of hearts and Queen of hearts. There you have it, I folded a royal.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ace.
DeleteAlways painful to have folded the winner so must have been doubly so to have folded a Royal - but as you say it’s a good fold at the time.