A Night of Poker to Remember, Lou to my Left

Buffalo Thunder a Streak Like No Other

I had to go to Buffalo Thunder Resort for my Professional Development at my new charter school.  Check in was at 4pm, but I showed up earlier, 2:30pm, to try to get into an advertised Ohama 8 tourney at 3pm with a $100 buy-in.  It didn't make.  So, the only game available was a $1/$3 Hold'em.  So, I bought in for $100.  While I was stacking my chips and getting situated, I was dealt my first hand, pocket Aces.  I thought it was a limit game, so I bet $6, the guy to me left bet $20, so I called a little confused.  Then the flop came and it was an A-T-7.  I flopped a set on the first hand, I checked, still a little not sure what was going on.  The guy to my left bet $30, I called and then realized this was a no limit game.  The turn, 6, I check, the guy bets $60, I call.  I'm loving this!  Then the river a K.  I bet $50, he just calls and I show my set of Aces, he had A-K.   A while later, I call with pocket 5's.  The guy to my left raises to $15.  I call, everyone else folded.  I flop a 5.  Again, I check and he bets, so I call his $25.  The turn, another 5, Quads.  I check and the guy bets $45, I call.  I bet $60, he folds.  I show my quad 5's and get an extra $55 from the casino for hitting quads.  I wond several hands, flopped a straight, chased and made a straight, and had a couple more of pocket rockets, which actually held.  I left that session $150 up. 

Lou Walks in the Door, Did you guys see the size of that chicken?

Now here is where it gets interesting!  I left to go eat the buffet at 6pm, I was starving and meet my group.  After all the pleasantries, at 9pm everyone went their separate ways.  I went back to the poker room and one table was playing the same game $1/$3 No limit.  I got into one of two open seats.  A couple hours later, Lou Diamond Phillips walks in the door.  He buys in and sits directly to my left.  I picked up aces three more times and pocket K's three times.  I won tice with them and lost a huge hand with the third K's.  Ryan, four ahead of me raises to $50, I reraise to $100, he reraises and I reraise all-in, most of my $200 in the center.  But we also had two callers up until the final all-in, one folded, the other didn't.  The flop came, I was all-in and there was still action between the other two, Ryan and Ken.  Ryan went all-in and Ken called, he had the most chips, HAD!  The flop was an A-7-5.  Ken turned over pocket 7's and Ryan had pocket aces.  The energy at the table goes crazy because the bad beat is $22,000.  I call for a runner-runner Kings.  The turn a King.  Everyone is freaking, including Lou, he had just got a player card so he could be eligible for the bad beat pot, and the river is an Ace.  Oh, so close!  I lost $200, another guy Josh, lost $100, and Ken lost $300.  Lou and I pound fists, because Lou said that was almost a bad beat!  A few hands later I make Quad 9's against Ken and double up my $100 that bought in with.  So, now I'm back to $200. 

Heads Up Against Lou Diamond Phillips

Looking down at pocket Q's, I opened with $15.  Lou calls.  The flop comes 6-Q-10 (6 & 10 are spades).  I check Lou, tries to hammer me as he did before with a bet $65.  I shove all-in, at this point I had a little over $100.  Lou calls and turns over A-K of spades.  I turn over my pocket Q's.  He doesn't make his flush, whew!  I doubled up.  Sorry Lou, he says it's all good.  We played with five remaining until 2am.  I truly enjoyed playing hold'em with Lou.  He told us the story of his final hand of a couple years ago in the WSOP main event.  He was knocked out, when he shoved all-in with 500,000 with pocket Kings, the average stack was 1,000,000.  He got two callers who went over the top of each other.  They each turned over pocket Aces.  No help on the board and he was out 164, cashing $36,000 with a sponsored buy-in from Poker-Stars.  The guy I won the first hand off of is somewhat famous, a spoken word poet who made a movie, Joe Rey Sandoval.