A night at the Nate Dog Casino

I hadn't played any poker in over a week. So when Nate told me of some friends getting together to play at his house on Thursday night, I was up for it. But I had volleyball that night. Then it rained. As the rain came down, Nate and Darren are talking me into playing cards instead of volleyball. It seemed like every 15 minutes they are emailing me a picture of the weather radar. As fate would have it, volleyball would be cancelled and I was going to be putting on my lucky drawers to play some hold em.

I call Nate and get directions. I stop at the liquor store to get a twelver and head out. As I get in the neighborhood, I realize that I don't have his address, nor his phone number. Just a description of the house. Thankfully he has a light on. As I walk in and ask if their is room in the fridge, he comments that I didn't need to bring beer. Later he would realize how foolish that statement was. We head downstairs to set up. The chips that Nate had would pretty cool. His buddy had gotten him personalized chips that said "Nate Dog Casino" on them with a picture of a dachshund on it. Really nice

Everyone pops in their $20 and we have a SNG with a top prize of $120 to first, $60 for second and third gets their money back. Of course my superior play would shine throughout this crowd. Quick action as Nate would take out Josh and basically double up. It would take a bit before anyone else would be gone. I would take out Michelle with a pair of queens. On that hand, I flopped top pair (I held KQo)and could tell she had nothing and was drawing. I bet just over half of the chips she had left. There were a couple of oohs when I quickly called her all in bet. I had a good read and went with it. I was doing ok on chips, just above average. I believe Nate was still holding onto his lead, but they were dwindling. Kevin was doing ok and Chris was hanging in. Chris was just about out until I dealt him a 7 on the river to give him a straight and survive. Darren went out soon as did Adam.

The next big hand took out Nate. I had amassed a slightly higher amount of chips than him (a couple of bluffs helped- Thanks Adam! Every time you said I had nothing- you were right). Anyhoo, I get a pair of jacks UTG. I raise the bet to 40. Everyone bails but Nate in the big blind. He calls. Flop comes J 4 2. A nice flop for me. I bet 25. Nate raised to 50. I quickly went all in. I had about 20 more than Nate. He thought about it. At this point, I wonder if I gave myself away by going all in so quickly. Nate did call and groaned when he saw my jacks. No help on the board and he was out. I had a commanding chip lead that I would use to slowly knock other out. When it came down to me and Kevin, I cut a deal to give him 10 more bones so we could get the next big game going. I pocketed a nice profit and felt good about my play. Little did I know the second game would be even better.

There were only 5 in the second game. Chris didn't last too long. Adam busted my KK with two pair, but he would soon be out as well. It didn't look too good for me as I was low on chips. I would build it back up a bit to take on Nate in one of the best hands I ever played. This is how I recall it. I was in the big blind with 3 6 offsuit. It was called to me. Flop came 6 6 x. I checked. Nate bet 50. I waited a bit and called. Turn was a 6. QUADS!!! Stay calm. Check. Nate bets 50 again. Pause...call. River is a 3. Hey, full house! Oh wait, don't need it because I still have quads! A hat if you will. So, I look at Nate and start my Oscar performance that I have rehearsed in my head umpteen billion times. "I don't think you have it. In fact, I don't think you have anything" Stare him down a bit..."I'm all in!". Nate thinks about it and calls. He groans- again- after seeing my 6. I would take Josh out with a better kicker on a pair of aces.

It was a fun night. As I mentioned, I hadn't played in a week and my game wasn't going too well. It felt good to play and play well. I felt I had some good reads. Also the group was entertaining as well. And I still won't talk to Adam at work.